


Kyalin (aka the ship we ALL deserved)

by milfkya



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, Fluff, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:01:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 26,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26398318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milfkya/pseuds/milfkya
Summary: so basically this is gonna be a collection of one-shots centered around Lin and Kya. im hoping to keep this as canon-compliant as possible with maybe a few flashbacks thrown in here and there. this will take place after season 2 of LOK, and the chapters will go in order from there :)
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Kya II
Comments: 83
Kudos: 322





	1. reunion

Lin stood arms crossed on the firm stone tiled walkway in front of Air temple island. It was a cool day, the sun was mostly hidden behind the clouds, and Republic city was visible in the distance. She was waiting for Tenzin and his family, as police chief, it was her job to update a fellow council member of the "recent changes" in Republic city's infrastructure, specifically the spirit vines entangling most of the city's buildings, and the light spirits living amongst the physical world.

Tenzin had been gone for quite some time, traveling to each of the Air Temples with his family, and of course helping Korra defeat Unalaq. After rescuing his eldest daughter from the spirit world, he was on his way back home. It had been an eventful few months. Lin herself was not there to witness the fight between Korra and UnaVaatu; she had heard the way UnaVaatu had ripped Raava's spirit out of Korra, but the young avatar had still found the strength to defeat him. She really was a hell of an kid.

Lin looked up as she heard the familiar bellowing of Oogi, inwardly stifling a groan. She could make out the shapes of Tenzin, Pema, and their children, along with two, unexpected, shapes. The large frame she recognized as Bumi moved slightly, revealing the blur of blue she had been trying so hard to get out of her head. _Kya_. 

It had been over a year since they had seen each other, not since Amon had taken her bending, and her and the rest of team Avatar went to Katara in the South Pole in a feeble attempt to restore her's, but more importantly, Korra's bending.

* * *

_The South Pole_

_One year ago_

_Amon pressed his thumb into her forehead and she swore she could feel the entire world shake. Air felt like it had been sucked straight out of her chest, and her face hit the asphalt with a thunk. She couldn't feel anything. Not the asphalt scratching against her face, not her cold metal uniform pressing against her skin._

_She was numb. She had nothing now._

Lin awoke with a start; sweating and disoriented. The room was spinning, and she had no idea where she was. She blinked her eyes furiously and gripped the sheets inbetween her fingers, desperately trying to get her bearings. She felt a hand on her upper back and whipped around to face whatever threat it was. 

Her resolve softened slightly when she met ocean blue eyes, stitched together in worry. 

"Are you okay?" Kya's soft voice shook Lin back to reality, and everything came back. 

Amon had taken both Korra's and Lin's bending back in Republic city, and the whole crew had traveled to Katara in the South Pole, only to be crushed when she came out of the healing hut with solemn eyes. 

_"There is nothing I can do."_

If there was no hope for Korra there certainly wasn't any for her. The realization hit Lin like a ton of bricks. The realization that she was no longer an earth-bender. She wasn't even the chief of police either. She was nothing. 

"I'm fine." Lin said gruffly shifting out under Kya's warm hands which were trailing up and down her back. The loss of contact hit her harder than she expected, the cold of the frozen tundra outside enveloping her once again. 

Kya got up and followed Lin through the hut they were sharing. Her friend was hurting, and she had no idea how to comfort her. Kya couldn't imagine losing her bending; something so _personal_ , let alone losing it in an effort to save her ex-boyfriend and his family. 

"It's okay to be scared Lin." She ventured into the small kitchen, where Lin had poured herself a glass of water, only to set it down on the table sharply at Kya's words. 

"I'm _not_ scared." replied Lin coldly, leaving the kitchen to go sit on the couch in the middle of the room. 

Kya followed her friend through the room; she knew Lin well enough to see right through her tough guy facade. She needed her now more than ever.

"It's not healthy to keep things bottled up you know." Kya sat down next to her, putting a hand on her arm. "You can talk to me." Kya smiled fondly at Lin, but Lin didn't meet her eye. Kya knew it wasn't easy for Lin to open up about her feelings normally, let alone while she was dealing with an undeniable trauma; she would wait until Lin was ready. They fell into a comfortable silence, Kya softly stroking her arm while Lin stared at her feet. It seemed like hours before Lin finally spoke. 

"I don't feel anything." Lin's voice was small, timid even, so very different from her normally stern and cold demeanor. Kya looked at her and nodded, urging Lin to continue. 

"I-Its like I'm not even alive. Like I have no purpose. Who am I if I'm not an earth bender? Or the Chief? I've centered my whole life around my bending, and now it's gone and I have no idea who I am without it." The words were tumbling out now and all Kya could do was let her friend vent. 

"I'm _nothing_ without it." Lin's voice was steady, but Kya could see the pain and turmoil in her aura. Lin turned away, but not before Kya saw a tear slip down her cheek. 

"Hey, look at me." Kya took Lin's face in her hand and softly turned her head to look at her. "You are so much more than an earth-bender. You are strong, and bold, and kind, and beautiful, you are every one of those things with or without bending." Kya looked deeply into Lin's eyes as she was talking, and something clicked in Lin. Kya had been the only one to try and comfort Lin during this time, the rest of the crew she came with singularly concerned with Korra first. Not that she could blame them; what's an avatar without bending? 

But the way Kya was looking at her now, shook up _certain_ memories of their childhood together. Soft touches, stolen glances and longing eyes. These memories were shoved down deep in Lin's subconscious, as she only recognized her feelings for Kya has a product of her former attraction to Tenzin, nothing else.

Kya had finished talking, but the way Lin was looking at her now made her heart pound, in a way she hadn't felt since they were kids. Kya had been with a lot of women, and made many romantic connections, but none as strong as the one she felt with Lin. Her embarrassing crush she'd had on Lin since they were teenagers was making it extremely hard for her to exercise any self-control, and the proximity of their faces surely wasn't helping either. 

Suddenly, without warning, Lin leaned in and pressed her lips against Kya's. Kya was startled at first, but quickly gave in to the one desire she always wanted. Lin's strong hands wrapped themselves around Kya's waist pulling her impossibly closer, while Kya's soft hands tangled in Lin's grey hair, keeping their faces flushed together. 

Lin was now on top of her, pressing Kya's body further into the couch, earning a soft moan from the water-bender. Lin left small kisses along Kya's jawline, nipping at her skin here and there. 

Kya couldn't believe what was happening. _She was making out with Lin Beifong. On a couch in the South Pole._

_Something wasn't right._

"Lin, Kya breathed, "Lin wait." The former earth-bender's face was still buried in Kya's neck, hands still running down her toned stomach, lower, and lower....

"Lin stop." Kya's voice jarred Lin out of her aroused state and she pulled away, slightly ashamed of possibly pushing Kya to much, but more stung by the rejection. Lin extricated herself off Kya, sitting back at her original position on the couch, not daring to look at the water-bender next to her. 

"Lin please look at me." Kya's voice was soft, pleading, and Lin slowly turned her head to make eye-contact with her. 

"I'm sorry, Lin mumbled, "I didn't mean to push you." 

"Lin no," Kya ran a finger along Lin's jawline, up and over the two pink scars that took up residence on the left side of her face. "I have wanted this for so long, wanted _you_ for so long" Kya began, "But I refuse to take advantage of you in this state." 

"You need time to heal, and to accept what's happened to you." Kya stated plainly, "I don't want be just a means to an end or a distraction, and I care about you too much to use you like that. 

Lin nodded her head absentmindedly, she knew Kya was right, even though all she wanted was to feel her bronze skin up against her own. 

"Come on, let's get you to bed. You need to get some sleep." Kya murmured, taking Lin's hand and leading her towards the bed. Lin got in, and pulled the covers up to her shoulders, but was surprised when she felt the bed sink in beside her. 

"What are you doing?" Lin asked, confused, but also secretly relieved she would not have to spend the night alone. 

"Just in case you need me." A lopsided grin appeared on the waterbender's face, 

"Gotta warn you though: I'm a cuddler." Kya draped a bronze arm over Lin's waist and pulled her close, nuzzling into her neck. 

"Goodnight Lin" 

"Good night Kya." 

That next day Korra reconnected with her Avatar spirit and restored her bending by herself, and restoring Lin's in the process. Lin and Kya had parted unceremoniously, Lin had her bending back and needed to get back to the city, and Kya knew better than to make her choose. She only hoped they would meet again. 

* * *

Lin was jarred from her thoughts by a familiar voice. 

"Lin!" Before the earth-bender knew what was happening Kya had swept her up into a tight hug, wrapping her bronze arms around Lin's metal uniform. Lin returned the hug awkwardly, still shocked by the sudden contact. If it was anyone else Lin would of pulled away immediately, but she let herself melt into Kya's embrace, even for just a couple seconds. 

Pulling away, Kya flashed her signature lopsided grin at her,

"How you been, _Chief_?" The water-bender enunciated the last word and wriggled her eyebrows at Lin. Lin was no stranger to Kya's relentless casual flirting and teasing personality, frankly it was a welcome break from Lin's steely demeanor. But Kya just seemed to make Lin flustered and awkward, like she was some hormonal teenager again. 

Lin cleared her throat awkwardly, "I've been good." She answered simply, studying the water-bender. She was just as beautiful as the last time they were together, her laugh lines under her eyes and on the sides of her mouth were slightly more prominent, but she was still stunning; ethereal almost. 

Lin hadn't realized she'd been staring until Kya wagged her eyebrows again and smirked, "Something on my face chief?" 

"N-no, I just um, you look good." Lin stuttered out, inwardly cursing herself for being so noticeable. Before Kya could answer, a familiar grating voice cut through the air. 

"Well if it isn't my two favorite girls!" Lin barely stifled a groan as Bumi sauntered over to the two women. "Hey Linny." 

Lin rolled her eyes at the childhood nickname he'd given her and he shot her a suggestive wink back. "Don't call me that." 

In response Bumi pulled both of them into a bear-hug, much to Lin's chagrin. He smelled like wet air-bison. Lin quickly extricated herself from the hug and dusted off her uniform. 

"I should get going, I've got to get back to the station." Kya frowned at Lin, obviously upset she was leaving so soon. 

"Wait, Lin," Kya grabbed her wrist as she turned around to walk away. "You should come by later, we could catch up?" Kya smiled warmly at Lin; even though things were "different" now after their encounter at the South Pole, she still missed her friend. 

Lin gulped. "I'll uh- I'll see if I can drop by tomorrow." Lin said, suddenly very interested in her shoes. 

"Alright then, it's a date chief." Kya shot her a flirty wink and walked back to Oogi to retrieve her belongings from the trip. 

Completely forgetting her purpose for coming here, Lin walked back to the dock to catch the ferry back to the city, glancing back behind her to take in one last glimpse of the water-bender, who noticed immediately and blew her a very exaggerated kiss. 

Lin bit back a smile and immediately steeled herself again. "Get a grip Beifong." she muttered to herself.


	2. catching up

Lin trudged up the stone-tiled walkway of Air Temple island for the second time in two days, courtesy of a certain water-bender she apparently couldn't say no to. It wasn't that Lin didn't like the island, she'd spent a lot of her childhood here, especially when she wanted to get away from her mother and Suyin.

Tenzin suddenly appeared in the walkway in front of her, and he smiled warmly at her. 

"Lin, hello! It's good to see you!" Lin nodded in response; Tenzin wasn't the sibling she wanted to see. 

"I saw you yesterday when we landed, why didn't you say hello?" Tenzin's tone was non-combative, but Lin really didn't feel like he needed to know the specific details of her and Kya. 

"Well, uh, it looked like you had your hands full." She replied, gesturing to his three eldest, who were chasing each other around in circles on little balls of air. 

Tenzin chuckled, "Yes I suppose that's true. So what brings you here?" He asked. 

"Actually I'm looking for Kya, she wanted to _catch-up."_ Lin inwardly cursed at herself for accidentally articulating the last part. She didn't want to alert Tenzin that something was going on between them. Because at the moment there really wasn't. Even Lin didn't know the exact particulars of "catching up". 

Tenzin obviously didn't notice Lin's inner turmoil over his sister, simply replying that Kya was meditating in the gardens on the east end of the island. Lin quickly thanked him and left, having no intention in sticking around to chat with her ex-boyfriend about her feelings for his older sister.

The gardens on the island were beautiful to say the least, and Lin quickly recalled them being one of Kya's favorite spots on the island, as the large, spacious garden also had a flowing waterfall, giving way to a small pool at the bottom. Sure enough, she found the water-bender sitting cross-legged underneath a large tree, deep in meditation. Lin, not wanting to disturb her stood watching her a couple meters away. The now-setting sun was illuminated on Kya's soft brown skin, giving her an almost ethereal glow. She looked so peaceful. So _perfect_. 

"Are you gonna stand there all day or are you gonna come and join me?" Kya cracked one eye open and grinned, "I could sense your aura for _miles_!" 

"You hippies and your auras." Lin grumbled as she took a seat on the grass next to the water-bender. Kya chuckled and brushed a stray silver lock out of her face.

"So catch me up, how have you been?" Kya smiled warmly. 

"I've been fine. Busy." admitted Lin, the new "environment" in Republic City was understandably not for everyone, and tensions were high. 

"The spirit vines." Kya nodded urging her to continue. "They are kinda neat though." 

Lin scoffed, "Kind of troublesome is more like it, my desk is piled high with complaints and it's all I can do to keep Raiko and Korra from killing each other." She remarked dryly.

"You seem like you're handling it well."

Lin studied her face for any signs of sarcasm, but Kya looked back at her with a understanding smile on her face. Suddenly their eyes connecting with each other became too intense for Lin, and she looked back down to the grass below her. 

"How have you been Kya? It's uh, been a while?" Lin's awkward but somewhat charming attempt at small talk brought an amused grin to the water-bender's face. 

"I've been uh, good," teased Kya, causing a heat to creep up the earth-bender's neck. "I helped mom out at the healing hut when I could, but why go to the daughter when you have the master?" Kya leaned back and let the wind blow through her hair, seemingly unbothered by her implication that she was once again in the shadow of her mother. 

Lin nodded; she understood the feeling well, she remembered complaining with Kya as kids about being the children of the legendary "Gaang." Having important parents not only meant being in the public eye all the time, but it also meant impossibly high expectations that were even harder to reach. 

A comfortable silence fell between the two, Kya laid back on the grass and Lin stared off into the distance, neither one talking, just enjoying each other's company. 

"Lin?" Kya's voice brought her back to the present. 

"Hm." 

"Are you," Kya paused as if she had trouble getting the sentence out, which was unlike her, as long as Lin had known her, Kya always had a quippy comeback for every situation. 

"Are you seeing anyone?" Kya had a goofy grin on her face like she did when she was joking, but Lin could see her eyes were searching, anxious even. 

"No." Lin breathed. _How was she supposed to be with anyone else when the only face she saw when she closed her eyes was the one in front of her?_

Lin's response seemed to relax Kya again as she laughed, grabbed Lin's arm and pulled her down to lay in the grass with her. 

"Aw, you sure none of your deputies have the _hots_ for you?" She wagged her eyebrows suggestively. "I know I would." Lin turned bright red at her comment, as much as she was used to Kya's relentless casual flirting, it was different now, mostly because she did, in fact, have " _the hots"_ for the water-bender. 

"Relax chief, I'm just playing around." Kya propped herself up on her arm, laying sideways now to look at the earth-bender. The water-bender's eyes were dancing, the corners of her mouth upturned in a teasing smile. 

_They were so close._ Lin thought. And they were, Kya was practically leaning over the earth-bender, their faces just _inches_ apart. 

Neither one of them moved. They continued to stare into each other's eyes, almost daring each other to make a move. Just as the last shred of Lin's resolve began to wither away and she was about to give into what she wanted, a familiar voice floated up the walkway. 

"There you two are!" The sound of Tenzin's voice caused Lin to shoot up immediately, nearly knocking Kya's head with her own. Kya sat up slowly, barely stifling a laugh that she had almost been caught kissing her little brother's ex-girlfriend. 

Tenzin, completely unaware of what he had almost interrupted continued, "Dinner is ready, Lin you're welcome to join us!" Just as Lin was about to object, Kya answered for her. 

"Of course she's staying!" Kya shot her a sideways grin, in which Lin responded with a grumble.

"Alright, I'll set an extra place out." Tenzin turned and walked away, leaving the two women. 

"Come on _chief_ ," Kya grinned and looped her arm with Lin's. "Lets eat."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so:   
> 1\. tenzin is a cockblock   
> 2\. sorry this chapter kinda sucked, i wanna get past the sexual tension parts and start writing them together, which will probably be in the next chapter. :)))))


	3. confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alrighttttt :))) our favorite ladies FINALLY getting together

"Alright, bring 'em in for booking and put the paperwork on my desk." 

Lin stood outside Republic City's police station, currently hauling in a group Terra Triad gangsters she had busted during a drug deal. She and her officers easily subdued them, but it didn't stop them from hauling colorful obscenities in her direction as they were dragged into the precinct.

As Lin walked into the lobby, she rubbed the back of her neck; gang activity had been high in the past few weeks, starting after the portals opened, and she knew that even if she caught some of them, ten more would just pop up in their place. 

As Lin made her way through the precinct she nearly froze when she heard a familiar, harmonic laugh echoing on the other side of her department's door. It had been a few days since she had seen Kya, but she was certainly not prepared to see her sitting on top of one of the desks, surrounded by her deputies, regaling them with a story from her youth that probably ended illegally. 

"So then, I told him I'd seen _badgermoles_ more attractive than him, and I water-bended his drink right into his face!" Kya finished her story, but quickly noticed her audience had zoomed back to their desks, pretending to be hard at work. _Chief Beifong was in the house_.

"Hey chief!" Kya hopped off the desk and walked up to a very annoyed-looking Lin Beifong, arms crossed over her chest and a scowl across her face. 

"Kya, what are you doing here?" Lin asked, visibly exasperated. 

"Well Tenzin's driving me crazy and the island's stuffier than ever, so I wanted to come see the city; you know, see how it's changed after all these years." Kya grinned suggestively, "And I thought you could be my tour-guide!" Kya jokingly elbowed Lin in the ribs, earning her the signature Beifong Glare. 

"Oh come on chief! Let's go have some fun!" Kya shot her another suggestive wink and Lin almost wanted to give in. _Almost._

"Kya, no. I'm very busy." The earth-bender replied steely. Unfazed by Lin's sudden animosity, Kya shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, still grinning at the earth-bender. 

"Guess I'll have to go find some trouble on my own then." She wiggled her eyebrows and bit her bottom lip before turning and walking out of the precinct, followed by enamored stares of the deputies she was entertaining before. 

"Alright show's over, get back to work!" Lin ordered, trudging into her office. Through her window, she could see the water-bender making her way through the busy city streets, silver hair billowing behind her as she walked. Lin sighed. _What's a couple hours? At least she'd be there to prevent Kya from getting into trouble. Spirits knows she always does._

With a groan, Lin threw the forgotten paperwork down on her desk, _She could do it later,_ she thought and made her way out of the precinct. Kya hadn't gotten far, Lin could still see her blue dress and silver hair. 

"Kya! Kya wait!" She yelled after the water-bender, who obviously didn't hear her as she disappeared around a corner. Lin jogged to catch up with her, turning the corner only to feel a hard tap on her metal uniform. 

"Boo! Gotcha chief!" Lin turned around to stare at Kya, who had the stupidest grin on her face, like a child after doing something increasingly idiotic.

"Did you really just try to sneak up on an earth-bender?" Asked Lin incredulously; tapping one of her boots against the ground, hinting at the seismic sense she'd learned from Toph. 

"Oh, I forgot about your weird sixth-sense thing." Kya grinned mischievously. "Nice of you to join me, _chief_."

"Well I figured if I didn't, I'd end up finding you in a jail cell later tonight." remarked Lin dryly. 

"Aww you know me _so_ well!" Kya threw an arm over Lin's shoulder, flashing another sly grin in her direction. 

Lin could feel the subtle blush creeping up her neck, and suddenly was very happy for the high metal neckline of her uniform. She moved away and cleared her throat, "So where to first?" 

"I don't know, you're my tour-guide!" 

"You mean I take a day off from work and you have no idea where you want to go?!" Lin grumbled, earning a chuckle from the woman beside her. 

"Come on chief," Kya looped an arm through hers, "I'll find us some trouble." She smirked, before dragging grumbling police chief through the busy streets of Republic City. 

* * *

Kya stood behind the railing on the island ferry, overlooking the quickly retreating city behind her. Her day with Lin had been, enjoyable, to say the least. The city hadn't changed too much since she'd last been there, besides the huge green spirit vines currently taking up residence in most of the buildings. They'd talked, laughed, and ate, and although Lin had pretty much shied away from every physical contact, it was a fun day. 

Kya actually enjoyed teasing Lin, not to be mean of course, but she thought it was adorable how the chief blushed and stuttered whenever she got close. Also, the fact that she was one of the only people in the world that could fluster the great Chief Beifong was quite liberating. 

She sighed and looked over the railing at the rushing water below. She'd made her intentions perfectly clear, and even though she wanted nothing more than to kiss the earth-bender until her lips were swollen, she didn't want to push her. As far as she knew, Lin had only had one serious relationship; with her baby brother of all people. Kya didn't even know if Lin had been with a woman before. If Lin hadn't kissed her at the South Pole, she would've had no idea Lin was even _interested_ in women, much less if she was into her. 

Kya was still lost in her thoughts as she stepped off the ferry, not noticing Tenzin waiting for her at the docks. 

"Where have you been all day?" Tenzin's voice brought Kya back to the present and she grinned at the air-bender. 

"Wooing a woman." Tenzin rolled his eyes at his sister. He had no interest in Kya's sexual conquests, much less in her not-so-subtle innuendos. 

"Well if you've fulfilled your flirting quota for the day, Jinora wants to have a meditation session with you." Kya nodded and began walking away, but not before flashing another mischievous grin at her brother. 

"I'm sure _Jinora_ will take more interest in how my day _actually_ went." She teased; getting a rise out of Tenzin was undoubtedly one of her favorite activities. 

"Kya!" Tenzin shouted after the retreating figure of his sister, "Do not corrupt my daughter with tales of your, _exploits_!" Kya chuckled as he struggled to get the last word out. Even though they weren't kids anymore, it was still far too easy to ruffle her brother's feathers.

* * *

After an almost _excessively_ long meditation session with Jinora, and what seemed like _hours_ trying to put Ikki and Meelo to bed, Kya was exhausted. She trudged back to her room on the island, flopping down on her bed. As she lay there, she couldn't help but wonder what Lin was up to. 

* * *

_Lin felt a warm hand drape itself over her waist. She turned around to meet a smiling Kya, eyes gleaming, the corners of her mouth twitched up in her signature grin._

_"Kya? What are you doing here?" Lin half asked, half mumbled, not really sure what was going on._

_"Where else would I be silly!" Kya giggled and pulled Lin closer to her. She leaned in and kissed Lin sweetly, and the earth-bender let herself melt, Kya's warm hands on her waist, soft lips against hers..._

Lin sat up in her bed, alone in her apartment. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, her mind still spinning from her dream. _Spirits._ She thought to herself. Remembering her dream made her stomach churn, it felt like she had lost something important and she needed to get it back. 

Suddenly her conscious was spinning with childhood memories, memories she hadn't thought of in a long time, and memories she pushed deep down. Like how when Kya touched her, her skin felt like it was on fire. Or when she told Kya that she had started dating Tenzin, how the light in Kya's eyes dimmed, and she could barely muster a smile and mutter a forced congratulations. Or the way she felt when Kya left to explore the world, leaving without so much as a goodbye. 

Lin rushed out of bed and hastily bent her armor on, sprinting out of her apartment. _She knew._ She could only hope Kya felt the same way. 

* * *

Lin stood outside the door of Kya's room on the island. Suddenly, this entire idea seemed crazy. _It's the middle of the night, she's probably already asleep._ Ignoring her own emotional turmoil, Lin mustered up the courage to knock on the door. _Spirits, she could take down entire gangs, fight against a maniacal blood-bender, and face off hundreds of dark spirts, but was scared to admit her own feelings?_

"Kya? It's Lin, I really need to talk to you." At first, she got no response, and was half relieved she wouldn't have to go through with this _insane_ idea. 

"Come in, it's open!" Lin opened the door to see Kya by the bed, her back to her, lifting her long, blue dress over her head. Lin's eyes immediately shot to the ground. _Gee, great timing Beifong._ She thought to herself. When she finally looked up again, Kya was clad only in a thin, dark blue slip, which was quite short, Lin couldn't help but notice. 

Kya grabbed a light blue robe hanging by her bed, and wrapped it around herself, turning around to look at the earth-bender. 

"Hey Lin." She smiled warmly at the earth-bender. "Are you okay? You seem... stressed." Kya's eyes stitched together in worry for her friend, Lin was always a serious person, but never like this. 

"I'm fine, I just- I need to talk to you." Lin was staring at her shoes, and Kya bit back a teasing remark. She knew it was hard for Lin to open up, and she didn't want to scare her away. 

"Sure, what's up?" Kya asked softly, no traces of sarcasm or teasing in her voice. 

Lin cleared her throat and shuffled her feet slightly. Out of all the crazy things Lin Beifong had done in her life; and there weren't many, this had to be the _most_ insane. 

"I've been thinking about," Lin cleared her throat again,"Well us, and I-um, I think I should be honest with you about how I feel." Kya felt her stomach churn. _Oh Spirits. She doesn't feel the same way._

"We were best friends when we were kids, and I remember being _so_ upset at you when you left." Lin continued, and Kya felt a flash of guilt surge through her. She had left partly because she felt stifled on the island, but mostly because she couldn't stand to see the girl she was in love with prance around with her little brother; but she certainly wasn't going to bring that up now. 

"I've spent most of my life pushing down my feelings, mostly because they made me feel weak, and because I thought eventually, they'd disappear." Lin admitted. Kya nodded, she understood that Toph's _alternative_ methods of mothering left her daughters, specifically Lin with the idea that feelings equaled weakness. 

"But I'm tired of running from my feelings. I've spent so long suppressing them and pretending like they didn't exist, because they _do_ , and I'm tired of hiding." Lin took a deep breath and finally made eye-contact with the woman in front of her. 

"Kya, I'm in love with you." _There it was._

Kya could only stare at the earth-bender; for the first time in her life, she was speechless. The woman she had been in love with since they were children had just confessed that she felt the same way this whole time, and Kya felt like the air had been knocked straight of of her chest. 

"Kya say something." Kya hadn't realized how dumbstruck she must of looked until she heard the fear and anticipation creeping into Lin's voice. 

She stepped forwards, until she was directly in front of the earth-bender.

"I have waited a _lifetime_ to hear you say those words." Kya took Lin's hands in her own, and although Lin would never admit it, her hands shook as Kya touched them. The water-bender laced her fingers in-between Lin's and their eyes locked; desperate, searching. Kya leaned in slowly and pressed her lips against Lin's. 

The kiss was sweet and soft, so much like the kiss they had shared in Lin's dream. Kya's hands gravitated to her face, softly stroking the pink scars underneath her cheekbone. Lin's hands tentatively reached for Kya's waist, pulling her closer. 

When the kiss ended and they pulled away from each-other, Kya rested her forehead on Lin's, a lopsided grin plastered across her face. 

"I can't believe I'm kissing my little brother's ex-girlfriend." She chuckled, earning an amused huff from the earth-bender. 

"Oh shut up." Lin muttered, pulling her into another kiss, this time with a new fire ignited between their bodies. They slowly walked each other towards Kya's bed, not once breaking the kiss, and Kya softly pushed Lin onto the bed, crawling on top of her. 

The tie on Kya's robe gave way to Lin's nimble fingers, and Kya sat up, breaking the kiss to straddle Lin's waist, sliding the blue robe off her shoulders. 

"You know, I don't usually do this after the first date." remarked Lin dryly, earning a sly grin from the water-bender. 

"Well you're missing out, _chief_." Kya yanked the dark blue slip over her head, and suddenly, Lin was confronted with parts of the water-bender she had never seen before. 

"See anything you like?" Kya quipped, and in response, Lin sat up to capture Kya's lips in her own; slowly, _sensually_. 

"You know, now that I've shown you mine," Kya murmured against Lin's lips, "You gotta show me yours." In response, Lin flipped Kya over, earning a playful shriek from the water-bender, so she was now on top. She leaned down to kiss Kya again, and she reveled in the feeling of Lin's cold metal uniform pressing against her bare skin. This was everything she'd ever wanted. 

They spent the night together, exploring every part of each other's bodies, learning more and more about each other, not just as friends, but as lovers. As intense as it was, there was a familiarity in the way they made love to one another, a sense of comfort the way their bodies wrapped around each other; a sense of _peace_. 

It wasn't the first time they fell asleep in each other's arms, and if either of them had it their way; it wouldn't be the last. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay sorry this took a little longer to get out, i kept rewriting because I wasn't sure whether i wanted to make this smutty or not LOL  
> lmk in the comments i would definitely love some feedback and also let me know if you guys want kyalin smut ;)))) cause idk if im gonna write it in or not but if you guys want it i definitely will :)


	4. the morning after

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> honestly this is just me celebrating that our ladies were actually in the same shot in the first ep of s3 :)

Lin awoke just as the sun began to rise, the same time her internal clock woke her up every day. The sun was just starting to seep through the window, illuminating the city in the distance. 

Even though the sun was oozing through the window now, warm rays hitting her skin, that wasn't why she felt so warm. 

Kya's was clinging to Lin like a child to a stuffed animal; legs intertwined, one hand on the earth-bender's chest, her steady breaths tickling the nape of Lin's neck. Maybe, if the city wasn't in complete disarray, she would of stayed longer. Wishful thinking. 

It took longer than Lin expected, trying to extricate herself from Kya without waking her. She slipped on her undergarments, the pants and white tank-top she wore underneath her uniform, and reluctantly slid off of the bed. She moved across the room to where her uniform was discarded the night before and bent the metal uniform to her body. Just as she was fastening her belt she heard the bed stir. 

"Morning." She turned around to greet the water-bender, who had herself propped up on one arm and was sleepily rubbing her eyes with the other. 

"Where are you going?" She mumbled groggily, it was no secret that Kya was certainly not a morning person, and Lin couldn't help but chuckle at her lover's tousled hair and bleary eyes. 

"To work." Lin rolled her eyes as she watched Kya groan and flop back down on the bed in response. "The city needs me." Kya snorted and mumbled something about workaholism as she rolled out of the bed, grabbing her robe she wore the night before and wrapped it around her naked body, shielding herself from the cool air. 

"Come here." She grabbed Lin's hand and led her towards the window overlooking the city. 

"You see the city?" Lin grunted in response. 

"Is it on fire?" Kya leaned against the wall next to the window. Lin shook her head. 

"Is it under attack?" 

"Uh, have you _seen_ the spirit vines?" Kya raised her eyebrow, and Lin rolled her eyes and shook her head again. 

"Right," Kya took Lin's hand and pulled her in close. "I think," she whispered, "that Republic City can manage without it's chief of police for a couple hours, don't you think?" She grinned suggestively, and Lin closed the limited space between them, kissing her passionately. 

Kya immediately wrapped her arms around Lin's shoulders, pulling her closer, while Lin's hands on her hips pressed her flush against the wall. The stuttering, flushed Lin Beifong she had just seen yesterday was long gone. 

When Lin finally pulled away, Kya was still leaning into her, wanting more. 

"Goodbye Kya." Lin could barely stifle a laugh as the water-bender slumped back into the wall with a groan. 

"I'll make it up to you." She kissed the bridge of Kya's nose and made her way to the door. 

"I'm gonna hold you to that, Beifong!" a grinning Kya yelled after her as she shut the door, and Lin couldn't help but smile herself. 

* * *

Bumi stood in the middle of the courtyard of Air temple island, kicking and flailing his arms around like a maniac. 

"Do you think being in the spirit world during Harmonic Convergence could of given him bending?" Korra mused, as her and Tenzin watched Bumi attempt to air-bend again. 

"I suppose it's possible." Tenzin replied, still in shock that he apparently wasn't the only air-bending sibling anymore. 

"Maybe Uncle Bumi is just a late-bloomer!" exclaimed Ikki, who was sitting with her knees tucked into her chest, happily watching the show her uncle was putting on. 

"You know, I have noticed a change in your aura recently." Kya remarked, causing Bumi stop his body movements to look at his sister.

"And you didn't tell me?!" Bumi exclaimed incredulously, going back to his flailing his arms around, only earning him an unamused look from his sister. 

Kya's face brightened when she heard the familiar clanking of a metallic uniform make it's way towards the group. 

"Invisible spirit monster attack?" Lin remarked dryly, watching Bumi continue to wave his arms around. She made eye-contact with Kya, who was standing next to Bumi, and the water-bender shot her a flirty smile, in which Lin responded only with her eyes, as if to say _I'm working._

Of course, Kya respected Lin's devotion and boundaries when it came to her work, but that wasn't going to stop her from having a little fun either.

As Mako stuck around to talk to Korra and Asami, Lin made her way back the way she came, but not before Kya stepped in her way. 

"So chief," Kya knitted her eyebrows together and cocked her head to the side, feigning (not very well) interest in the case. "Tell me about the new air-bender, what's being done to locate him?" 

It took all of Lin's self control not to roll her eyes at her lover and her fake preoccupation with the case at hand. Of course, no one else picked up on it, and it would of been even more suspicious if Lin blew her off. With an internal groan, Lin forced herself to oblige. 

"We've got an all-points bulletin out on him now, it shouldn't be that hard to find him. " She replied, suddenly very aware of the water-bender twirling a lock of silver hair between her slender fingers. Kya slowly licked her bottom lip, biting down on it as she nodded along in fake scrutiny of the case. Lin cleared her throat and averted her eyes, trying to push down some rather _graphic_ memories of last night that Kya's actions were stirring up. 

Currently satisfied with the reaction she'd gotten out of Lin, Kya dropped the act and smiled sweetly at the earth-bender. 

"Thanks chief, I hope you find him!" Lin crossed her arms and did her best to glare down at the water-bender, who was barely stifling a cheeky grin from plastering across her face. 

Lin huffed in attempted annoyance at her lover's shenanigans, and motioned to Mako, who looked just as flustered after his brief conversation with both his ex-girlfriends, that they needed to get back to the station. 

While walking away, Lin shot another half-hearted glare in Kya's direction, who feigned a pout, whirling away to join her brothers. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay this is literally just a filler chapter YIKES im sorry  
> but i've read some of your comments and im working on something i think you'll like ;))  
> THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING i will go DOWN with the ship lol


	5. alone time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: THIS CHAPTER HAS EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT (skip forwards if you aren't interested in that )
> 
> ask and you shall receive.... ;)

Lin opened the door to Kya's bedroom on Air temple island, and smiled when she heard the shower running. She and Kya had a sort of an _arrangement_ in place for their meetings _;_ On nights when Lin didn't have to work late she would venture over to the island to meet Kya. On nights where Lin couldn't make it over to the island, Kya would stay over at her apartment, and they would go their separate ways in the morning. 

It was nice, really. Kya understood that Lin was devoted to her work, and if anything, she appreciated their time together even more. To everyone else in the world, Lin Beifong was the stone-cold chief of police, unfeeling, ruthless even. But to Kya she was a completely different person. With Kya she was kind, sensitive even, and attentive to Kya's needs. Kya knew Lin always harbored a soft spot for her, and she loved the way Lin seemed to _envelop_ her when they had sex, or the way Lin's callused, but nimble fingers ran through her hair when they laid together.

Lin was bending off her armor when she heard Kya's voice waft through the bathroom; her singing was a welcome break from the sound of water hitting the shower floor. Lin couldn't help but smile at Kya's singing; it sounded like some hippie nomad song that Lin didn't recognize, until Kya got to the chorus. 

"SECRET TUNNEL!" "SECRET TUNNEL!" Kya was really belting it out, and Lin had to stifle a laugh. She had a beautiful voice, she always had, and Lin suddenly remembered Aang and Sokka singing that same song to them when they were little. She smiled fondly at the memory.

Lin stripped off her tank top and pants and silently slipped into the shower behind Kya. 

"SECRE- ah!" Kya jumped as she felt Lin's arms wrap around her waist, whipping around to see a smirking Lin. 

"Spirits Lin," Kya exhaled dramatically. "Not everyone has an earth-bender sixth-sense thing!" 

"Sorry," Lin chuckled, "I guess I could leave if you-" 

"Woah hey, who said anything about leaving?" Kya pulled Lin into a deep kiss, wrapping her arms around her broad shoulders. 

"How was your day?" Kya whispered against her lips.

"Long." Lin grunted in response. "The Triads are a pain in my ass." She winced, "And my back." 

"Come here." Kya shifted their positions so Lin was under the flowing water. She felt Kya's hands move up and down her back, trying to find the sensitive areas.

She shivered as she felt the familiar sensation of Kya's healing water lightly digging into the top layer of her skin, clearing her qi and relaxing her muscles. Kya hummed the rest of "Secret Tunnel" as she worked, and Lin smiled contently, focusing on the warm shower water still hitting her skin, and the sound of her lover's voice. 

When Kya finished, Lin rolled her shoulders and her neck, turning around to meet the water-bender. 

"Better?"

Lin kissed her deeply in response, feeling Kya's grin widen at the sudden contact. 

"I guess so." She murmured against the earth-bender's lips, inherently focused on Lin's hands slowly traveling down her sides.

"I thought you were tired?" Kya breathed, reveling in the feeling of Lin's tongue slowly dragging down the length of her jawline. 

Lin tilted the water-bender's chin up to meet hers. 

"I'll admit you are _quite_ the healer." 

"Hmm, my rate is 20 yuans please." Kya chuckled and Lin moved their faces closer, her hand still underneath Kya's chin. 

"I don't suppose you take, _alternate_ , methods of payment?" Lin leaned in closer, brushing her lips against Kya's. 

"I suppose we could work something out." Kya could only mumble, focused on Lin's hand sliding across her stomach. 

Lin kissed her again, passionately, _hungrily,_ slowly walking Kya backwards until she was pinned against the shower wall. Lin hands greedily ran up and down Kya's sides, only stopping to run her thumbs over the pebbled flesh of her nipples. 

Lin's hands gravitated down to the back of Kya's thighs, picking her up and pressing her back against the wall in one swift movement. Kya immediately locked her ankles around Lin's waist, pressing their pelvises together. 

Lin's lips trailed down to the nape of Kya's neck, and she released a soft moan as Lin's fingers brushed the inside of her thigh. Kya arched her back against the wall as the earth-bender's fingers found the spot they were looking for; Kya's body accepting them with ease.

Kya's breath hitched as Lin kissed further and further down her chest, her tongue flicking over a nipple. 

Kya, suddenly very happy for the loud pattering of the shower water hitting the floor, released a throaty moan as Lin curled her fingers upwards. 

Lin tilted her head back up to kiss the water-bender, and Kya immediately took Lin's bottom lip between her teeth, pulling on it lightly. 

Although Lin's wrist was cramping, and her arms were tired of holding Kya up, nothing was going to make her stop, especially with the way Kya was panting in her ear. 

Lin redoubled her efforts, refocusing on her fingers buried inside her lover, the palm of her hand grinding against the water-bender's clit, and the feeling of Kya's heavy breathing into the skin on her neck. 

The earth-bender pushed her further into the wall, and Kya came undone, her thighs tightening around Lin's slender fingers in orgasm. Pressing her lips against Lin's once again, Kya felt herself go limp into the earth-bender's arms, still breathing heavily as Lin slowly lowered her off the shower wall, and slid her fingers out from inside her. 

"I should heal you more often." She muttered. Lin chuckled and pressed a chaste kiss into Kya's silver hair. 

Kya pulled away and reached behind Lin to turn off the shower, then quickly bent the remaining water off them. She stepped out of the shower, beckoning for Lin to follow her, then shooting a sly grin over her shoulder. 

"Come on chief, I think you're gonna need some more _healing_ before you leave." 

* * *

Kya lay curled into Lin's broad frame, tracing aimless patterns into the earth-bender's muscular forearm. Lin ran her fingers through Kya's silver hair absentmindedly, taking in the water-bender's scent she could only describe as sea-salt and flowers. 

"Kya?"

"Hmm?" Kya didn't move from her current position on Lin's chest, continuing to trail her fingers up and down Lin's arm. 

"Are we," Lin paused, "girlfriends?" Kya brought her head up to look at the earth-bender, cocking it to one side to look at her quizzically. 

"Do I need to remind you that you confessed your love to me in this very room?" Kya grinned and motioned to the spot where Lin had in fact, confessed her feelings. 

"Right, just checking." Lin answered, going back to running her hands through Kya's hair. The water-bender, still looking at Lin, suddenly smiled cheekily, and rolled over Lin and off the bed.

"What are you doing?" Lin asked incredulously. In response, Kya only grinned, and got down on one knee like she was proposing. 

"Lin Beifong," she said in mock seriousness, "Will you please, do me the honor, of being my girlfriend?" 

Taking in the sight in front of her, Lin couldn't help but laugh. A stark naked Kya was kneeling on the ground in front of her wearing the biggest grin Lin had ever seen. 

"Is that a yes?" Kya asked in mock anticipation. 

All Lin could do is roll her eyes and nod her head slightly, and Kya responded by doing a little victory dance at the edge of the bed. 

Kya crawled back into bed with her and smothered Lin's face in kisses. 

"Alright, alright." Lin muttered, cupping her _girlfriends_ face in her hands. 

"I love you." Kya said, suddenly deadly serious as she looked into Lin's eyes. 

Jade orbs met cerulean ones. 

"I love you too." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. its canon that kya sings in the shower. period.  
> 2\. kyalin shower sex! it was my first attempt at smut so sorry its not super detailed or long im not sure how much you guys actually wanted i promise ill get better at it.  
> 3\. i hope you guys enjoyed this smutty/fluffy chapter, as always i LOVE feedback so please keep commenting i'd love to know what you guys think :)


	6. sneaking around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin and the rest of team avatar have already left the island to go search for airbenders,  
> so our ladies take advantage of the situation ;))))
> 
> basically a chapter of lin and kya being gay and pema being a kyalin shipper (mood)

Lin leaned over her kitchen counter, flipping through the daily newspaper while sipping a cup of hot tea. It was a nice morning, the sun was just starting to rise over the tall buildings of Republic City, illuminating Lin's apartment. 

Lin had opened the shades in her bedroom as she got up, hoping that the bright morning sun would wake Kya so she could see her before Lin left for work. 

Lin actually rather enjoyed these mornings at her apartment with Kya. Was it almost unbearably domestic? Sure. But Lin liked how Kya would walk her to the door, usually while making an inappropriate joke about handcuffs or Lin's cables, then would kiss her deeply as a last, but feeble attempt to get Lin to take the day off. It never worked, but it was a fun tradition nonetheless.

It was quite different from either of their previous relationships, but it was nice. It was comfortable. 

Sure enough, Lin felt the vibrations of Kya's light footsteps, making her way down the hallway and into the kitchen. Lin turned her head to greet her girlfriend and couldn't help but smirk. 

Kya stood there rubbing her eyes, silver hair tousled, in nothing but her underwear and one of Lin's white tank tops, which was loose everywhere except the chest area, (go figure). 

"Long night?" Lin snorted sarcastically, as the water-bender moved behind her to pour herself a cup of tea. 

"Part of that is your fault you know." Even though Kya was the one that had the sex-drive of a teenage boy, Lin was always happy to oblige, even into the late hours of the night. 

Kya hopped up to sit on the kitchen counter next to Lin, who was still reading the newspaper. She turned her head to look at the water-bender who was combing her fingers through her mussed hair. 

"I am gonna want that shirt back." Lin flicked her fingers underneath the bottom of the tank. Kya only giggled and pushed the newspaper and now empty teacup aside, so she was sitting directly in front of the earth-bender. 

Lin shifted so she was in-between the water-bender's legs, and Kya's smiled down at her seductively. 

"Hmm, I think I'm gonna keep it." Kya mused, eyes glinting as she leaned in closer to Lin. "Unless you can _somehow_ convince me to get out of it?" 

Lin rolled her eyes. "I have to go to work today." she stated matter-of-factly, ignoring Kya currently kissing the corner of her mouth. "And that _doesn't_ entail screwing my girlfriend." 

Lin pressed a quick kiss to Kya's cheek, putting her empty tea cup in the sink, ignoring Kya's loud groan of disapproval as she made her way to the door. 

Kya hopped off the counter to follow Lin to the door, putting her hands on the earth-bender's shoulders. 

"Alright chief, kick some ass and be _safe_." 

Lin chuckled at the last part, earning a half-hearted glare from the older woman. Kya knew that asking Republic city's chief of police to be safe at work was like asking a badgermole to read a book. It just wasn't gonna happen. But she still couldn't help but worry. 

Lin's resolve softened slightly, she knew Kya was always worried about her, if their positions were reversed, she'd be worried too. 

"I'll try." Lin whispered and Kya reached up to kiss her in response. 

"Knock 'em dead chief." Kya whispered against her lips. 

As Lin turned around to leave, she felt Kya slap her ass, well as best as she could through Lin's metal uniform, and she whipped around incredulously to face her grinning girlfriend, who was barely containing a fit of laugher. 

"I hate you." Lin grumbled as she closed the door behind her. 

"I love you too Lin Beifong!" Kya yelled after her, her voice slightly muffled by the door. 

Lin shook her head and bit back a smile, leaving her crazy, half-naked girlfriend behind for the day. 

* * *

Kya walked into the courtyard on Air Temple island, and was greeted by her nieces and nephews, and Pema. 

"Aunt Kya!" Ikki and Meelo rushed forwards and wrapped their arms around their aunt's waist and Kya returned the hug warmly. Jinora, the eldest, looked up from the book she was reading to smile at her aunt, before burying her nose back into whatever historical account she was so entranced by. 

"Where have you been off to?" Pema asked amicably, still rocking little Rohan, who was sound asleep in her arms. 

"Oh, I snuck out early this morning to run some errands." Kya replied. 

Pema noticed that Kya had no bags or groceries to indicate any "errands"; also recalling she had seen Kya sneaking onto the ferry late last night after she had put the kids to bed. Pema just nodded and smiled back at her sister-in-law; Kya's sexual relationships were certainly none of her business, even if she was a little curious. 

"Pema, why don't you leave the kids with me for a few hours, you should get some rest." Kya smiled warmly at the exhausted looking mother, and Pema smiled gratefully. Mothering the new generation of air-benders was undoubtedly exhausting. 

"Thank you Kya, I think I will." Pema slowly handed a still sleeping Rohan to Kya, and couldn't help but notice the slight discoloration of a bruise beginning to form towards the bottom of Kya's neck. Biting back a smile, she thanked Kya again, before getting up and retiring to her room. 

* * *

That night, Kya stood out on the docks, watching Lin step off the last ferry with a grin on her face. Lin took notice of her girlfriend's sudden elation, raising an eyebrow quizzically. 

"What's with you tonight?" She asked, still not sure why Kya was looking at her like she wanted to jump in her bones right there on the docks. 

Kya just giggled and kissed the earth-bender's cheek. 

"Now that Tenzin and Team Avatar is gone," she whispered into Lin's ear, "we pretty much have the _whole_ island to ourselves." She grinned suggestively. 

"I think Pema, your nieces and nephews, and a couple dozen Air acolytes would disagree with you." Lin replied dryly, still focused on Kya's warm breath in her ear.

"Shh," She put a finger to Lin's lips and grinned, "Let's go, _chief._ "

* * *

Pema had just finished the laundry and was making her way through the women's dormitory on the island when she heard quiet giggling around the corner. At first she sighed, thinking Ikki had snuck out of bed again, but she quickly recognized the sound as Kya, and she wasn't alone. 

Pema chuckled softly, Kya had never brought her romantic companions to the island before, and Pema couldn't help but admire how even in her older age, Kya still had no trouble landing a date. Pema waited silently around the corner for the water-bender and her _companion_ to enter Kya's room, but Pema stopped short when she heard a familiar metal clanking accompanying Kya's fit of giggles. 

_No way._ She thought to herself. Finally gaining the courage to peak around the corner, Pema couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Kya and Lin Beifong were stumbling through the hallway, mercilessly necking like a couple of teenagers. 

"Shh" Kya giggled in between kisses, both of them fumbling to get the door open and get out of the exposed hallway. Pema suddenly wondered if Lin could feel her presence through her seismic earth-bender sense, but at the moment she seemed rather occupied. 

Finally succeeding in getting the door open, the pair stumbled into Kya's room, lips still connected, shutting the door behind them. 

Pema quickly walked down the length of the hallway, but not before hearing the bed creak, Kya's laughter only slightly muffled through the walls. 

Once out of the dormitory, she exhaled, and couldn't resist laughing quietly at the relationship she'd just accidentally uncovered. 

She wasn't completely surprised of course, she easily recalled how Lin had stuttered and flushed when Kya hugged her when the group returned to the island, or how Kya had stared at the earth-bender all throughout dinner the next night. 

Her thoughts flitted to Tenzin; did he know about this new relationship? _Probably not_ , Pema chuckled to herself. As much as she loved him, her husband was just as oblivious as Rohan was. 

She couldn't help but wonder if this was another one of Kya's fleeting sexual encounters; or something more. Pema knew Lin wasn't much of a one-night stand kind of girl, and Kya _had_ been sneaking off the island _quite_ a lot. 

But if their relationship was serious, why hadn't they told anyone? She knew Kya loved getting under Tenzin's skin, and sleeping with his ex-girlfriend would certainly do the trick. 

Maybe their relationship _was_ as serious as Pema thought; the two women were too wrapped up in each other to even care about telling people. 

It was _sweet_ , really. She'd always felt a little bit guilty for ruining Lin and Tenzin's past relationship, and she was glad the chief was able to move on, even if it meant dating his sister. 

She hoped that they would come out with their relationship soon, ultimately it was their story to tell, but either way, Pema still had a funny story to tell later on. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok this chapter was kinda all over the place LOL i just wanted to give u guys a lil bit of domestic kyalin.  
> basically i have this headcanon that kya just goes around slapping lin's ass whenever she wants and i think its HILARIOUS  
> as always i REALLY appreciate feedback i honestly read all of you guy's comments and they make my day :)   
> thank you guys for sticking with this the next chapter might be a little short but i've got some cool stuff planned that I hope you guys will like <3


	7. be safe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ok this is gonna be a short chapter but its just a lead in to the big final battle thing with zaheer and the red lotus lol

Lin was sitting in her office in Republic City flipping through paperwork when her phone rang. 

"Beifong." She answered curtly, but was surprised by the voice on the end. 

"Hello my child." A terse, crackly voice on the other end of the line brought Lin back to her childhood, remembering the father she never had; and the one she always wished was. 

"Zuko?" She hadn't heard his voice in many years; he sounded tired, she couldn't blame him of course, even as an elderly man, he was still ruling over a nation. 

"Are you and Izumi alright?" Lin asked tentatively, there could only be really one reason he could be calling after all these years; to deliver bad news. 

"We are fine, Lin." He paused, and Lin braced herself for whatever bad news he was about to deliver. _Was it Toph?_ Certainly she would of heard if something had happened to her mother. Lin was still racking her brain when Zuko's voice brought her back to the present. 

"Zaheer and the others have escaped." His voice was quiet, solemn, and Lin felt her stomach drop.

"WHAT?" She couldn't help the rage rising up through her stomach. Quickly remembering who she was talking to, she took a deep breath and steeled herself once again. 

"How?" The prisons constructed for each of the benders were heavily guarded and impenetrable; or so she thought. 

"I'm not sure," Zuko admitted. "They came for the combustion bender late last night; Tonraq and I tried to hold them off but," He paused again. "but we failed." She could practically hear the disappointment dripping in his voice.

Lin wished she could comfort him, it obviously wasn't his fault, but her head was still spinning from this new information. 

"The Avatar needs to be protected. " Zuko said matter-of-factly. "Is she in Republic City still?" 

"No, she went with Tenzin to search for air-benders in the Earth Kingdom." Lin admitted, inwardly cursing herself for letting the young Avatar out of her sight. She was supposed to protect Korra, and now she was miles away in Ba-Sing-Se. 

"I'll make sure she's safe." Lin said. "I promise." 

"I know you will." Right as Lin was about to hang up, he spoke again. 

"And Lin," His voice, thick with affection, made Lin remember how much she idolized him as a child. "It's been nice speaking with you. Be safe, my child." 

"It's been nice speaking with you too, Zuko." Lin replied, taking another second just to hear the sound of his breath on the other end of the line before hanging up. 

She sat back in her chair and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She knew her mission now.

She needed to find Korra. 

* * *

Kya was folding her clothes in her room on the island when she heard the door creak open. She turned around with a smile to greet Lin, but the smile quickly faded when she saw the look on Lin's face. 

"Lin? What's wrong?" The earth-bender was always in a serious mood, but not like this. She was solemn, spooked, even. 

Kya walked over to Lin and took her hands in her own, rubbing her thumbs over Lin's knuckles. 

"Zaheer and the others escaped from prison." Lin said numbly. 

Kya felt herself pale at the news. Memories of her Uncle Sokka's death flitted through her mind. Zaheer interrogated her uncle for the location of the newly discovered Avatar Korra, and when he had refused to tell him, Zaheer had taken his life without a second thought. 

Kya stepped forwards to wrap her arms around the earth-bender, enveloping her in a hug. Lin let herself melt into Kya's warm embrace, wanting to relish in her girlfriend's touch for as long as she could. 

"I have to go find Korra." Lin said, her arms still wrapped around Kya's waist. She felt Kya nod against her shoulder. 

"I know." Kya pulled away to rest her forehead against Lin's. 

"I know it's practically pointless to say at this point," Kya began, aimlessly stroking a thumb against Lin's cheek. "But _please_ try to be safe." Zaheer had taken _so_ much from the both of them, and neither one of them wanted to lose anything else. 

"I will." Lin said immediately, "I promise." Kya was slightly surprised at Lin's sudden promise; every-time Kya told her to be safe before work, Lin would wave it off or make it into a joke.

"Hm," Kya smiled. "Chief Beifong promising to be safe, there's something I'd never thought I'd hear."

"Because now I have something to come home to." Lin murmured softly. 

For the second time in her life, Lin had rendered her speechless. _She_ was what Lin was coming home to. 

_She_ was the reason why Lin had suddenly pledged to be safe for one of the first times in her life.

"I love you." Kya whispered, feeling tears pricking the corners of her eyes. 

Lin kissed her deeply in response, the remnants of a murmured "I love you too" written across her lips. 

In that moment, Kya knew everything would be okay. She knew Lin would be alright, and that they would meet again, after this was all over. 

There, wrapped in each other's arms, both women shared a silent understanding, a _promise_ , to return to each other, no matter the cost. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> disclaimer: yes, we don't actually know how Sokka died, but i'm making it canon that Zaheer was the one who killed him, mostly cause it fits my storyline better. 
> 
> I know i already posted a chapter today but i was really bored during zoom class so i finished this short little chapter for you guys :) 
> 
> as a filler chapter im gonna write a little bit of young kyalin, basically kya being a tease and Lin being a closeted gay (mood) , just until our ladies reunite at the end of s3 lol
> 
> as always lmk what you guys think down below <3


	8. sparring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a young kyalin flashback chapter :))))))
> 
> disclaimer; im changing their age gap to 2 years cause it fits the storyline better LOL

A sixteen-year-old Lin walked out into the courtyard on Air Temple Island. After visiting her boyfriend Tenzin, she wanted to get back to the police academy to do some more training. Technically she wasn't a true cadet because she wasn't twenty-one yet, but who was going to stop Toph Beifong's daughter from applying early? 

Hearing some commotion on the other side of the building, she rounded the corner to the expansive "sparring ground", which really was just a large patch of grass with a long trough of water running along side of it. 

The "commotion" she heard was from an eighteen-year-old Kya, who was sparring with several of the White Lotus sentries. Well, sparring really wasn't the right word. 

In actuality, Kya was beating the _crap_ out of them, and they all looked just a little bit terrified to be sparring with the Avatar's daughter. You would think that the Order would be tentative to spar against one of the people they were sworn to protect, but none of them appeared to be holding back; most of them just trying to leave with their bones intact. 

Lin noticed her mother and Katara sitting off to the side, watching Kya, and Lin couldn't help but feel a little entranced herself. Aang always said that watching his wife water-bend was _hypnotizing_ , and Lin never really understood what he meant until now. 

Even though she was fighting, the water-bender looked _angelic,_ ethereal almost. _Like a spirit._ Lin thought. A ring of water spun around her waist, and Lin watched as she bounced off the balls of her feet, easily evading whatever strike came her way. She was wearing only a pair of dark blue tights, and the bindings around her chest. Lin averted her eyes, suddenly feeling as if she had violated the water-bender by letting her eyes wander. 

Lin had always secretly admired Kya. Although she was two years older than the earth-bender, Kya was more free-spirited than anyone she'd ever met; it seemed like she was always laughing at something, finding the beauty in even the littlest of things. She and Lin had connected easily when they were younger, and they remained best friends throughout their teenage years. 

Kya was beautiful inside and out, but her outer beauty was something else all together. In the past few years, Kya had really grown into a young woman, something Lin was secretly jealous of. Lin had never been a vain person, but her dull black hair and pale skin did nothing to compare with Kya's long, silky hair, bronze skin, and blue eyes that twinkled when she smiled. It seemed wherever they went, schoolboys would practically challenge each other to Agni Kai's it order to get her attention, but it never worked.

When Lin was younger, she never understood why Kya turned down every boy that asked her out, so many other girls would of _killed_ for the kind of male attention she received on a daily basis. 

Lin still remembered the day Kya came out to her. She couldn't meet Lin's eyes and was practically trembling in anticipation. She had never seen her best friend so nervous about anything. 

Lin still couldn't explain the feeling in her stomach when Kya told her she was gay. She also couldn't explain why sometimes, when Kya got close, her breath would hitch, and suddenly she couldn't form coherent sentences. Lin just concluded that all girls had special connections with their best friends, it wasn't something to worry about. 

She was brought back to reality from the sound of the last sentry hitting the stone wall behind him, then was immediately frozen in place. Lin wasn't sure whether the rest of the sentries were unconscious, or if they had just had enough, but either way, Kya was done fighting. 

"Who knew Sugar Queen Jr was such a badass!" Toph's grating voice cut through the air, and Kya took a bow towards the two women. 

"Nice job sweetie." Katara smiled sweetly at her daughter, and Lin couldn't help but wish her own mother would say things like that. 

Kya grinned and wiped the sweat from her brow on the sleeve of her armband, her eyes suddenly landing on Lin.

"Hey officer." Kya grinned, brushing a stray lock of brown hair behind her shoulders. 

"You wanna go a couple rounds?" Kya nodded to the sparring ground and winked. 

Just as Lin was about to decline, she heard her mother scoff and say, "My money's on Sugar Queen Jr." 

"Sure." With a new fire ignited by her mother's snarky comment, Lin stepped toward the sparring ground. 

"Lin, why don't you take off your uniform?" Katara's voice was gentle and non-combative. "You don't want to get it dirty."

Lin sighed but relented, unbuttoning her cadet uniform, acutely aware of Kya's eyes on her. 

She slid the uniform off her shoulders, revealing a thin white tank top, which pronounced her quickly developing muscular biceps. 

Kya let out a whistle of approval and Lin felt herself blush bright red. 

"Someone's been working out." Kya teased, reaching forwards to poke her index finger into the earth-bender's bicep, causing Lin to blush even deeper. 

"It's nothing." Lin mumbled and Kya laughed, turning away and crooking her fingers at Lin, signaling her to follow her out on the field. 

Kya bent the remaining water in the trough and formed a ring around her waist, and Lin stepped forwards in a fighting stance. 

With a grin, Kya struck first, shooting a thin stream of water at Lin, who dodged it easily, shooting a couple rocks in Kya's direction, who sliced through them effortlessly. 

After couple minutes of exchanging water and earth, neither of them had landed a single strike, which only fueled their intensity. 

Lin bent three pillars of earth up from the ground, which narrowly missed Kya, as she flipped forwards, kicking a stream of water towards the earth-bender, hitting Lin straight in the chest. 

Lin stumbled backwards, trying to regain her balance. 

"Oh come on Lin! You gotta anticipate that!" Toph's grating voice cut through the air, and Lin gritted her teeth and took another fighting stance. 

"Come on, _officer_ ," Kya drawled, her blue eyes twinkling. " _I can take it_." 

Lin growled and shot multiple rocks towards the water-bender, one after another. Lin was into it now; a new sense of intensity bubbling through her as she hurled chunks of earth at Kya. 

Just as Kya stepped back to steady her stance, Lin flicked the earth up behind her, causing the water-bender to stumble, and a rock to collide with her chest, knocking her to the ground. 

Lin approached the water-bender, who was laying on her back, breathing heavily. 

"Yield?" Lin asked, crossing her arms over her chest. The water-bender only grinned, and Lin suddenly felt a water-tendril wrap around her ankles, sweeping her to the ground unceremoniously. 

Before Lin's brain could catch up to what was happening, Kya was rolling on top of her, pinning her hands above her head. 

Lin was flushed and breathing heavily, but not from the workout. A few tendrils of dark brown hair had come loose from Kya's traditional ponytail and were trailing across Lin's face, making her breath catch in her throat. 

Lin always hated it when Kya teased her, mostly because she had no idea how to return it. Kya was always so sure of who she was and who she loved, but Lin had always felt unsure of herself, and Kya just seemed to make Lin tremble without even trying. 

Kya slowly looked Lin up and down with a smirk, and Lin thought she was gonna pass out underneath the water-bender. 

"I guess Aunt Toph does win her money after all." Kya grinned, indicating on the comment Toph had made earlier. 

Kya was leaning in close now, but Lin had had enough. Although she was a little taller, Kya was lighter than Lin, and the earth-bender easily flipped her over onto her back, earning a surprised squeak from Kya. 

Lin wrestled Kya's arms above her head and bended the earth up as a pair of makeshift restraints to hold her in place. 

Still sitting on Kya's hips, Lin crossed her arms and glared down at the water-bender. 

"You done yet?" She demanded, but Kya only grinned up at her with a sultry look in her eyes. 

The water-bender made a show of resisting against the earth around her wrists, arching her back to meet the stony-eyed earth-bender above her. 

"Yes, _officer ._ " Kya drawled out the last word, satisfied with the way Lin gulped and immediately leaped off of her. 

The earth restraints holding Kya's wrists retreated back into the ground, and Kya leaped up, rubbing her wrists and grinning; brushing past Lin to join her mother and Toph. 

Katara got up to brush a stray hair out of her daughters face. 

"Kya sweetie, why don't you get cleaned up and join me in the infirmary to practice your healing?" She motioned to the eight White Lotus sentries that were still struggling to get up. 

Kya nodded and began to walk away from the group, her brown ponytail swinging behind her as she walked. Katara left too, leaving Lin and her mother alone on the field. 

Not wanting to stay and chat with her mother, Lin walked back over to her uniform she'd discarded earlier, inwardly groaning as she heard her mother walk up behind her. 

Lin turned around to face her mother, who was standing there, arms crossed over her metal uniform, with a knowing smirk on her face. 

"What?' Lin snapped, averting her eyes from her mother and slipping the uniform over her shoulders. 

Toph just smirked and rolled her eyes at her daughter. 

"Does Twinkle Toes Jr know that you have a crush on his older sister?" she snarked, and Lin was suddenly glad Toph couldn't see the blush threatening to color her cheeks. 

"What? I do not!" Lin sputtered, hurriedly trying to button up her uniform so she could run away from this conversation. 

"Yeah, and _I'm_ the blind one." Toph snorted sarcastically. "I'm just saying, I've never felt your heart beat as fast as it was out there." She waved a hand nonchalantly towards the sparring field. 

"I- We were sparring!" Lin exclaimed defensively, buttoning the last button on her tunic and quickly walking away from her prying mother.

"You gotta pick a sibling, Lin!" Toph shouted after her retreating daughter's figure. "And if Sugar Queen Jr's the one that gets you all hot and bothered, then go get her!" 

Lin groaned as she walked away from her irritating mother. Couldn't she just leave this alone? Lin was dating Tenzin, and any thing she felt for Kya was a product of her love for Tenzin, they were siblings, so they shared a lot of the same traits. Did they though? Where Tenzin was uptight and conventional, Kya was free-spirited and energetic. 

But either way, even if Lin was attracted to women, (Which she wasn't, she was dating a guy for spirits sake!) she couldn't imagine dating someone as flighty and rootless as Kya. They were different people, and Lin needed to get over this little infatuation.

They were _friends_ , and that was it. Lin told herself as she walked away from the island, even with the image of Kya below her seared into her mind. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i had really high hopes for this chapter but i really hate the way it turned out so im sorry for this bad chapter ugh  
> next couple chapters will be basically me Kyalin-ying the s3 finale(s).


	9. please wake up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys SO MUCH for 1K hits! im so happy you guys are enjoying this as much as I enjoy writing kyalin :)

"Caw Caw!" "Caw Caw!"

Lin looked up to see five people piled on top of a poor baby bison, which was careening towards the ground. Watching as it crash-landed, Lin and Su hurried over to Tenzin and the others.

"Where are the other air-benders?" Su asked, offering her shoulder to a bruised and bloody Tenzin, who was wincing with every step.

"Gone." He waved his hand. "Zaheer and the others took them away."

Before Lin could ask the real question that was plaguing her, Tenzin spoke again.

"Did Zaheer get away with Korra?"

"Yes." Lin answered. "Apparently he can fly now."

The group continued to muse and strategize about the best way to rescue Korra and the air-benders before the young, short-haired air-bender who had given the others a ride down on his bison spoke up.

"I know where Zaheer took the air-benders! And I bet that's where they took Korra too!"

"Where?" Tenzin asked, the whole group now looking anxiously towards the kid.

"That giant lady met up with two other guys I didn't recognize, and they took the air-benders to some caves by the mountainside. " He replied.

"And Kya and Bumi?" Lin asked apprehensively. Su furled her brow at her sister's now urgent tone, but quickly connected the dots.

"Yeah, but they were unconscious when they took them so.." Kai's voice trailed off and Lin didn't need him to finish the sentence. She felt herself pale a little as an image of Kya's lifeless body being carried away flitted through her mind, but quickly steeled her emotions. The team needed her. Korra needed her. _Kya_ needed her. 

* * *

As the team suited up Oogi to commence their rescue operation, Lin stood off the the side, looking over the mountains below. Her mind flitted back to her last conversation with Kya. It had felt like _eons_ since they've seen each other. Touched each other. Kissed each other.

When they parted that night on the island, it didn't occur to either of them that that conversation could be their last. That the kiss they so sweetly shared could be their last. 

Lin's job came with the constant fear that her life could be taken from her at any time, and her and Kya had accepted that possibility together. But right now, in this moment, the possibility of losing Kya felt so very real. 

Because it was. She saw the way Tenzin looked when the group came down on the bison. She could only imagine how his siblings fared.

Lin was so deep in thought she didn't realize her sister come up behind her, startling her with a hand on her shoulder. 

"She's gonna be okay Lin." 

"I know." Lin composed herself and nodded. "Korra's a strong kid." 

Su chuckled lightly. "Yes, _Korra_ is, but I was talking about Kya."

"What?" Lin turned to face her sister, who had a knowing smile on her face. 

"Please Lin, I saw the way you paled back there, and you've been on edge all trip. " Su smiled again. "I know you two were close as kids, it doesn't surprise me that it turned into something more." 

Lin couldn't help but gape a little at her sister. They had such a rocky relationship when they were younger, she never thought Su would be the type to take notice of who she liked, much less her behavior in the present. 

"How long have you two been seeing each other?" Su asked softly, her hand still on Lin's back. 

"After Harmonic Convergence." Lin admitted, she didn't really want to explain her and Kya's entire story to her sister, but it was a welcome distraction from the situation at hand. 

Suddenly Su wrapped her sister in a tight hug, surprising Lin. The two sisters had _just_ reconciled, which was fine, but Lin wasn't really sure what to do with this sudden display of sisterly affection. 

"Come on," Su whispered. "Let's go get her."

* * *

"I'm not coming out without either of our children." Lin heard Su promise something to Tenzin but she wasn't going to stick around to chat. They had no time to waste. 

They ran through the caves; Lin using her seismic sense to locate the air-benders, leading the group deeper into the caverns. 

They came across a wall and Lin earth-bended it open, immediately shooting a rock towards the Red Lotus member in front of them. As Asami ran forwards to take out the other one, Lin scanned the room. 

Her eyes flitted through the sea of orange and yellow robes, before finding the light blue she was looking for. 

Kya laid unconscious in one of the air-bender's laps, her face bloodied and bruised, her blue dress tattered and torn. Lin rushed forwards, and the air-benders around Kya backed away immediately, out of fear or respect, Lin didn't know. 

Lin knelt down and pulled Kya into her lap, cupping her face softly. _Please wake up._ With her feet on the ground she could feel Kya's heartbeat. It was faint, but it was there. 

"Kya, can you hear me?" Lin stroked her face softly, running a thumb over the mole underneath Kya's left eye. _Come on._

As if she was summoned, Kya's eyes fluttered open, and Lin exhaled softly at the sight of familiar blue orbs flitting to hers. 

"Lin?" Kya croaked out; her voice was hoarse and scratchy, but it still made Lin's heart soar. It was good to hear her voice. 

"I'm here." She whispered, squeezing Kya's hand. "Can you stand?" 

Kya nodded and Lin helped her to her feet, slipping an arm over her waist and throwing Kya's arm over her shoulder. 

"Where's Tenzin?" Kya squeaked, "Is he okay?" 

"He's fine, more or less." Lin replied, still walking them out of the cavern. 

They were almost at the mouth of the cave, and Lin could feel the pain radiating off of Kya's body in waves. Her heart clenched. She knew that Kya was the only healer with them, and she also knew Kya wouldn't even think about healing herself until she'd healed everyone else. And the list was long. 

Walking out of the cave, they were greeted with an astonishing scene. It looked like something from one of Varrick's movers. Zaheer and Korra were flying around in an epic battle, and Korra was giving it her all. 

While Lin was taking in the sight above, she felt Kya slip out under her arm and begin to limp away. 

"Kya? What are you doing?" Kya only pointed to a small pool of water outside the cave, while grabbing Bumi. 

"Please grab Tenzin for me." She smiled tiredly, taking her older brother to her element. Lin knew that she couldn't possibly convince Kya to heal herself until her brothers were taken care of, so she obliged, walking over to Tenzin and his family, motioning over to his sister.

He understood immediately, pressing a kiss to his wife's forehead before making his way over to his siblings. Lin watched as Tenzin kneeled down next to his sister, putting a hand on her shoulder and asking her something that Lin couldn't hear. Kya only waved him off, and continued healing Bumi. 

Lin's eyes flitted back and forth from the battle above and to the siblings by the water. Kya was focused, and quietly determined; Lin could only hope she would find the time to heal herself too. 

Suddenly, Korra flung Zaheer down to the ground, her eyes still glowing white. Lin and Su immediately earth-bended him into to a makeshift prison, looking up to see the young avatar collapse to her knees. 

It was all a blur. 

Lin saw Tonraq cradling his daughter in his arms. She saw the bright white light fade out of Korra's eyes. She heard Jinora say something about metal, and could only watch as Su ran over, pressing her hand to Korra's forehead. 

While Su metal-bended the poison out of Korra, Kya suddenly materialized beside her, obviously done healing her brothers, but not herself, Lin noticed. 

Even with the poison successfully out of her system, Korra still was a couple steps from death's door, Lin deduced, from the way Kya's brow knit as she pressed her hand against the avatar's forehead. 

"I need to get her into a healing tub immediately." Kya said. "Is there one on the airship?" 

Su nodded, "It has a full infirmary." 

Kya nodded, her brow knit together in concern. She motioned to Tonraq, who picked his daughter up in his arms and begin to carry her away.

Kya got up too, but not before Lin saw her wince in pain, biting her lip to keep her from crying out. Lin walked up behind her and caught her arms softly. 

"Kya, you're hurt, you need to take it easy." The water-bender smiled at her girlfriend, it was sweet how concerned she was. 

"Lin, I'll be fine." She glanced back at Korra, still being carried by Tonraq. "The poison took its toll," She continued, looking back at Lin. "If I don't heal her _now.._ " Kya trailed off and Lin understood, looking at Tonraq cradling his only daughter in his arms. 

They stared at each other for a while; green and blue in a fiery connection that only the two of them understood.

Unspoken words flitted between the two women, communicated only by the connection of their eyes. 

_I'll be okay._

_I know_. 

_Thank you for coming back to me._

_I love you._

_I love you too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. its canon that kya healed EVERYONE after the battle. period .   
> 2\. this and the next chapter were actually supposed to be all in one, but it was getting too long so i split them up. ill have the next chapter up by tomorrow hopefully.  
> 3\. ok this chapter was a lil different cause i wanted to add in a little bit of family dynamics (lin and su and the aangs kids) so lmk if you liked the sibling dynamic cause i'm down to write more of it if you guys want :)


	10. aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> guys let me just say : your comments are SO. SWEET.   
> that fact that you guys are actually enjoying my work makes me so unbelievably happy :))))

"Put her in the tub." Tonraq obliged immediately, lightly placing his daughter, who was flickering in and out of consciousness, into the wide healing tub aboard the airship infirmary.

The entirety of Team Avatar was gathered around Korra, and nerves were high. Everyone was worried about the young avatar, and no one wanted to mention the elephant-rhino in the room.

Kya pulled up a chair next to the healing tub; she wasn't going to admit it, but she could hardly stand. She closed her eyes and focused on the water surrounding the young avatar. The healing water glowed lightly underneath Kya's hands as she assessed Korra's injuries.

"The areas where the poison was injected are in bad shape." Kya admitted, turning to look at the group. "It's going to take me a while to repair the musculature."

"How long?" Tonraq asked quietly.

"A couple hours, at least." Kya responded. She could feel the tension in the room, but she wasn't going to promise something she didn't have a definite answer to. As a healer, Kya always had a good bedside-manner, but she couldn't lie to Korra's family and friends that she would be okay, because truthfully; she didn't know. 

"I'll do what I can." Kya murmured softly. Tonraq nodded gratefully, the healer's promise seemingly enough for now.

"You guys should try and get some rest," Kya continued. "It's gonna take me a while."

"I'm staying here." Tonraq said, Bolin, Asami, and Mako all nodded their heads in agreement and Kya couldn't help but smile. Korra had a whole family surrounding her, all rooting for her to recover.

Kya's gaze flitted to Lin, who just nodded as if to say; _I'm staying with you._

Kya took a deep breath and closed her eyes, and got to work on the young avatar. She started with the muscles in Korra's forearms, slowly patching up the almost completely dissolved musculature. 

She repeated the process with each individual muscle strand, using the water to soothe each muscle she repaired. 

Lin couldn't take her eyes off her partner. It was hypnotizing watching her work. Lin had been healed many times by the water-bender, but the way the glowing blue water reflected off of Kya's dark skin caused Lin's breath to catch in her throat every-time. 

Hours passed, and Kya worked diligently, not breaking her concentration once. Once she was finished, she looked up at Tonraq and nodded. 

"She's going to be fine." Kya paused before continuing. "I repaired all of the muscles that were severed, but I don't think she'll be able to walk without rehabilitation."

Tonraq reached down and picked his daughter out of the tub, and Kya bended the water off of her body. 

"Thank you, Kya." The gratitude in his eyes was unmistakable, and Kya nodded and smiled. He carried Korra out of the room, followed by Mako, Bolin and Asami, leaving Lin and Kya alone. 

Kya sighed. As she got older, healing was taking more and more out of her, and her own injuries surely didn't help the situation. She stood up, and her knees gave out beneath her. Lin was by her side immediately to catch her, and steady her again. 

"Come on, you need to heal yourself too." Lin murmured softly. 

Kya nodded, then looked at Lin. "Why don't you come in with me? I can heal us both at the same time."

Lin just shook her head. "Kya, I'm fine, you need to save your strength." Kya wanted to argue, but truthfully, Lin was right, Kya barely had the strength to crack a joke, much less heal two people at once. 

Lin helped her out of her now tattered blue dress, slowly lifting it over her head. 

"Done this before, haven't we?" Kya murmured, as Lin slowly slid the slip she wore under her dress down to her ankles. 

Left only in her bindings and her underwear, Kya let Lin help her over to the tub and lower her into it. As soon as Kya touched the water, she felt rejuvenated; the feeling of her element surrounding her filled her with a sense of familiarity, stability. 

Lin sat down in the chair next to the tub, watching her partner heal herself. Truthfully, Lin _was_ fine, she wasn't any more injured than she was after a day on the job, and she was glad Kya had finally gotten the opportunity to work on herself.

Looking down at her girlfriend, her eyes closed in concentration, bruises on her body starting to fade into the glowing water, Lin couldn't help but feel so insanely lucky. Today they both saw a world without each other in it, but came out on the other side, _together_. It felt like they had spent their entire lives apart, but fate had brought them together again and again. 

They had returned to each other, keeping the silent promise they made to each other that night on the island. They had survived through so many things, individually and together, which only strengthened their relationship, Lin believed. 

A little under an hour had passed when Kya finished, leaning her head back on the rim of the tub in sheer exhaustion. Kya felt Lin's warm hands slide under her back, slowly lifting her out of the tub. Kya gingerly stepped out of the the tub and tiredly bent the water off her body. Lin grabbed a white hospital gown from one of the drawers, and helped Kya into it. 

Kya gingerly took a step forwards; the extent of her injuries was a fractured spine, a broken ankle, and a couple broken ribs, all of which she had healed, but she was still sore. Before she could say anything, Lin delicately scooped her up in her arms, careful not to bend Kya's back into an awkward angle. 

"Such service." Kya murmured, resting her head on Lin's shoulder. Saying she was exhausted would be an understatement, her eyelids felt like cement, and she almost fell asleep in Lin's arms. 

Lin carried her down the hallway, to an empty room at the end of the hallway of the medical bay. She carefully placed the water-bender on the cot, pulling the blanket over her chest. 

The warmth of the infirmary bed coupled with Kya's utter exhaustion proved just the ticket; the water-bender's eyes began to droop as a deep wave of sleep rolled over her. She felt herself drifting off, but not before she heard Lin pull up a chair and press a long kiss to Kya's forehead. 

* * *

Pema stood in front of Kya's infirmary room watching the couple through the window, while rocking her youngest in her arms. Kya had been asleep for almost an entire day, and Lin had not left her side once. 

Tenzin made his way over to his wife, stopping beside her. 

"How is she?" He glanced at his peacefully sleeping sister through the window.

"She's fine, Lin's been taking care of her." Pema answered. Tenzin looked thoughtfully at the scene in front of him; Lin sitting next to a still sleeping Kya. 

"I'm so glad they are still close after all these years." Tenzin remarked. "I knew they were close companions when we were children, but I'm glad their friendship is still intact." 

Pema cocked her head to look at her husband incredulously. Lin was _literally holding Kya's hand_. He couldn't be serious.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at her own husband's obliviousness. 

"Yeah, okay." Pema snorted, earning her a confused look from Tenzin. 

"What?" Poor Tenzin was so confused, but Pema couldn't control a small laugh from escaping her lips. 

Normally she would be more hesitant on outing the couple, but she didn't want to hide anything from her husband. 

"Let's just say it has something to do with a _certain_ water-bender who's been spending a lot of her time in the city." She paused, Tenzin still looked confused. "And a certain _police chief_ who's been sneaking into the island." She finished.

Tenzin just looked at his wife. "Wait, you mean..?" He gestured to the two women and Pema slowly nodded, as if she was explaining something to a child. 

"Kya and _Lin?_ " He looked utterly _baffled_ , and he shook his head again. "No way." He looked at his wife, who was just barely holding in another laugh, and then back at his sister and his ex-girlfriend.

"Why don't you go in there and get some answers?" Pema chuckled. She reached up to press a kiss to her husband's cheek, still laughing as she walked away. 

Tenzin stood there for a minute, then slowly opened the door, closing it behind him. 

Lin turned around at the noise, sliding her hand away from where it was resting on Kya's. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Tenzin apologized. 

"It's alright, she's still asleep." Lin replied, motioning to Kya, who sure enough, was still knocked out.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you, Lin." Tenzin started, and Lin shrugged, motioning for him to go ahead. 

"I heard something," He cleared his throat awkwardly before continuing. "I heard that you and my sister were, uh, _seeing each other_." He cleared his throat again. "I was just looking for some confirmation." 

Lin rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. It wasn't like she didn't want people to know about their relationship, but telling your ex-boyfriend that you're dating his older sister is an awkward conversation nonetheless. 

"Yes." She said finally. "We started dating a little while after you returned after Harmonic Convergence." Lin admitted, not really making eye contact with the man in front of her. 

"Wow." Tenzin breathed, obviously still trying to wrap his head around this new relationship. They stood in silence for a while before Tenzin spoke again.

"She's my sister Lin, and you're, well, we dated, and well," He took a deep breath. "I'm happy for you, I think you two will be good for each other." 

Lin nodded appreciatively. Although their relationship didn't end on the best terms, she was glad he was still in her life, even as a friend. Before she could thank him, a familiar voice spoke up next to her. 

"We _are_ good for each other Tenny," Kya opened her eyes and grinned. "in a relationship _and_ in bed." Tenzin turned bright red at his sister's innuendo, and Lin couldn't help but roll her eyes at her girlfriend. As inappropriate as she was, at least she was awake.

"I'll leave you two alone." Tenzin straightened his robe and cleared his throat. "Glad to see you're feeling better, Kya." The water-bender gave a mock salute to her brother and Tenzin began to walk out of the room.

"Tenzin." Lin called out after him, and he turned back towards the two women. "Thank you." Lin wasn't really much for words, but she hoped she conveyed her appreciation for his understanding of their relationship. He smiled, and nodded his head, before leaving the two women alone again in the room. 

Lin turned back towards Kya, who was yawning and sitting up on the bed. 

"How are you feeling?" She asked. In response, the water-bender leaned forwards and captured Lin's lips in a deep kiss, cupping the earth-bender's face in her hands. Lin leaned forwards to wrap her arms around Kya's waist, pulling her closer. Kya was practically pulling her onto the bed before Lin pulled away, sitting back on the chair. 

"Better, I assume?" She smirked and Kya flopped back down on the bed.

"What can I say, I missed you, chief." Her eyes twinkled, and she rolled over on her side to grin at the earth-bender. Lin was glad she was back to her old self, it had been too long.

"So, I guess the secret's out huh?" Kya remarked, stretching her back. 

"Was it ever really a secret?" Lin snorted; they were never explicitly trying to _hide_ their relationship, both of them just felt the entirety of Air Temple island didn't need to be privy to their personal business. 

"Nah, but it was fun sneaking around." Lin smiled at her comment, but Kya could tell something was bothering the earth-bender. 

"Come here love." Kya scooted over and patted a spot next to her, and Lin sat on the bed across from the water-bender. 

"I'm sorry." Lin said, looking down at the sheets. "I shouldn't of left." Her voice was practically dripping with guilt, and Kya's heart clenched. Lin always internalized her trauma, always taking responsibility for things she shouldn't. 

"Lin, no." Kya reached for her hand and intertwined their fingers. " _None_ of this is your fault." Lin just shrugged, and Kya knew she didn't believe her. 

"I could've been there for you, I-, I _should_ of been there." Lin hung her head in shame, and Kya's felt her heart break for her girlfriend, for internalizing all this guilt that had nothing to do with her. 

Kya took Lin's face in her hands, forcing the earth-bender to look at her. 

"Nothing you could of done would have prevented this." Kya said soothingly. "You needed to go and protect Korra, and you _did_ , didn't you?" Lin nodded slightly before Kya continued. 

"What I love so much about you is your protectiveness over the people you care about," Kya said softly. "But some things are out of your control; you can't protect everyone all the time." 

"I can try." Lin mumbled and Kya smiled and nodded, resting her forehead against Lin's. 

"Do you remember when you said I was what you're coming home to?" She whispered quietly, and Lin nodded against her head. 

"When I left to travel the world, I wasn't just leaving my life behind, I was leaving _you_ behind." Kya said quietly. "And I kick myself every day for doing so." Kya paused, and Lin furled her brow in confusion. Of course she was upset when Kya left all those years ago, but she never blamed Kya for it. 

"We've always been connected, Lin." Kya continued, stroking Lin's cheek with her hand. "And even when we went our separate ways, fate brought us back together again and again." 

Normally Lin would groan at Kya's hippie talk about fate and the universe, but it was nice to think there was some sort of invisible string tying them together. 

"I don't need you to promise to protect me, Lin." Kya pulled back her head to look at the earth-bender. "All I ask is that when the universe pulls us apart, that you promise to fight your way back to me." 

"I have never stopped fighting for you, Lin." Kya unabashedly let a tear roll down her cheek. "And I-" She was cut off when Lin leaned forwards to press a deep kiss against the water-bender's lips. 

"I promise." Lin whispered against her lips, and Kya leaned forwards to kiss her again, wrapping the earth-bender in a tight embrace. 

Kya felt another tear slide down her face, and Lin softly brushed it away with her thumb. 

There, wrapped in the tearful embrace of the two women, the silent promise they made to each other was replaced by a verbal one. A promise to fight for one another. 

A promise to _live_ for one another. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok WHEW. i cried a lil writing this :( im actually really happy with the way this chapter turned out but let me know what you guys think!  
> also did yall catch that tswift reference ;)))) i feel like folklore fits kyalin really well lmao   
> in the next chapter theres gonna be kind of a time jump, but ill update you guys in the summary :))))


	11. reward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ok so i know the timeline in s4 is really wacky but heres my time jump: so basically Kya went to accompany Korra to the south pole to heal and stuff with Katara. its been about a month, and now she's coming back to the city. and to lin ;)))
> 
> also possible tw for sexual harassment, its not graphic or anything but either way  
> disclaimer: this chapter contains EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT! i know its been a while since i've fed yall sum kyalin smut hehe

Kya stood at the helm of a Southern water tribe ship, letting the first few wisps of the warm air of the city blow through her hair. The skyline of Republic City was just starting to become visible through the clouds, the bright lights of the tall buildings illuminating the night sky.

It had been over a month since Kya accompanied Korra to the South Pole so she could begin her rehabilitation with Katara. The young avatar's fighting spirit she was so known for was broken, to say the least. Korra was undoubtedly frustrated that she couldn't fight and train the way she always did, much less even walk. Kya had tried her best to comfort her and help her through this time, but the young girl was deeply traumatized.

It had been nice to spend time with her mother again, but the South Pole was no longer her home. Her home was here, in Republic City, with Lin. Before Kya left, Lin had asked her to move in with her at the apartment, which Kya gladly accepted; going back and forth from the island was exhausting.

The ship was now docking into the city, and Kya felt her heart leap a little. This wasn't the first or the longest time she'd been away from Lin, but after their close call with Zaheer and the Red Lotus, Kya felt more connected to her than ever, the month they had spent apart had felt like a _century_ to Kya. She couldn't wait to see her girlfriend. 

* * *

Kya slid her key into the lock and slowly opened the door to the apartment, finding it dark, and very much empty. Kya sighed, she wasn't surprised of course, Lin had probably been working night-shifts ever since she left. 

She closed the door behind her, debating what she should do. Lin's night shifts always lasted well into the morning, and Kya really didn't feel like waiting up for her. She wasn't overly tired either, so going to sleep wasn't an option either. Kya groaned and flopped down on the couch, throwing her bags aside. She just wanted to see her girlfriend. Was that too much to ask? 

Suddenly, she got an idea. Lin never liked Kya visiting her at work, something about Kya being a _distraction_. But it was late at night, Lin was probably only doing paperwork anyways. 

Kya lept up from her spot on the couch, grabbing her keys and shutting the door behind her. 

* * *

This streets of Republic City were mostly empty, besides an occasional Satomobile rumbling through. Kya walked quickly along the illuminated sidewalk, the police station was only a fifteen minute walk from the apartment, but the empty streets made Kya uneasy. 

Kya was about halfway to the station when a man leaning up against a one of the nearby buildings called out to her.

"What's a beautiful lady like you walking by yourself for?" Kya gritted her teeth but kept walking, hoping he would just leave her alone. 

He was following her now, Kya really didn't want to start a fight, but she _hated_ men like this. The ones that believed women were entitled to them, like they were property, or objects to obtain. 

"Come on sweetheart, I just wanna show you a good time." He grabbed her arm and Kya whipped around, yanking her arm out of his grasp.

"If you touch me again, I swear to Raava I'll make you regret it." She growled, and the man narrowed his eyes at her. He obviously wasn't used to being turned down. 

"Fine, I like the fiesty ones anyways." He lunged at her, and Kya sent a stream of water from her pouch directly into his face, knocking him back a couple steps. 

He practically snarled at her, launching a plume of fire directly at Kya, who brought up a stream of water, blocking it easily. He swung again, and Kya caught his arm, swinging him into the window of the store next to them, causing the glass to shatter everywhere. 

Kya formed a ring of water around her waist, waiting for him to get up again and face her. Usually she didn't like to pick fights, but someone needed to put this guy in his place. 

"You had enough yet?" She demanded, and he looked back at her and sneered in response. 

He launched fireball after fireball at her, all of which she deflected and dodged, he wasn't a really great fighter, but his rage at her rejection was fueling him enough. 

She slung a stream of water at him, which wrapped around his waist, and was about to throw him into the adjacent building when she heard the familiar sound of police sirens. Suddenly, she felt the metal police cables wrap around her body, stopping her bending. 

Two police deputies got out of the police Satomobile and placed handcuffs on both of them. 

"You two are under arrest for assault and destruction of private property." One of them said, leading them both to the back of the police car. 

"Wait!" Kya struggled against the restraints. "Where's Chief Beifong? This is all a misunderstanding!" She tried to reason with the deputy, but he just shoved her into the back of the police car. 

Kya sighed as the car engine started and they rumbled down the street. She _was_ going to see Lin, but not in the way she wanted. 

* * *

"Would you _please_ just go get her!" Kya had been trying to reason with a rather overzealous new recruit for the past twenty minutes to get the chief, but to no avail. 

"Chief Beifong does _not_ visit criminals, and she is very busy." The officer said sternly, not even looking up from his desk. 

Kya groaned and leaned back against the wall of the cell she was currently residing in. This wasn't the first time she'd been in a jail cell, but it _was_ the first time in this decade. She really was getting too old for this. 

She closed her eyes and shifted her wrists against the cold metal cuffs; this night had certainly ruined the sexual allure of handcuffs for her forever. 

* * *

Kya's eyes were still closed, and she wasn't sure how much time had passed when she heard a familiar voice. 

"I guess old habits die hard, huh?" Kya opened her eyes to see Lin leaning against the desk in front of the cell, smirking at her from behind the bars.

Kya grinned sheepishly. "Would you believe me if I told you it wasn't my fault?" 

Lin only rolled her eyes, and with a flick of her hand, the metal cuffs around Kya's wrists dropped to the floor, and the cell door slid open. Kya walked out of the cell to join Lin, who lead them both towards the precinct door. 

"Where are we going?" Kya asked as Lin opened the door for her. 

"Uh, we're going home? Unless you wanted to spend the night in a cell?" Lin snorted. Kya shook her head quickly and linked her arms through Lin's as they walked over to Lin's Satomobile. 

"You're not mad, right?" Kya asked, she knew Lin's job was important to her, and she didn't want to cause any issues. 

Lin looked at her questioningly. "Of course not." She smirked again. "That man was actually a wanted criminal, so technically we owe you a reward." 

Kya's face brightened and she grinned. "I think I'd like to cash in on my reward now, _chief._ " 

Lin smirked and opened the passenger door of the Satomobile for her. "I'm taking you to it right now."

Kya got in and Lin closed the door behind her, walking around to the drivers side. As soon as Lin got in and closed the car door, she leaned over, tilting Kya's chin towards hers to capture the water-bender's lips in a passionate kiss. 

"Welcome home." 

* * *

The two women stumbled down the hallway towards Lin's apartment, and Kya was kissing Lin like her life depended on it. Kya had almost made Lin crash the car on their way back, and could barely keep her paws off her while walking into the building. 

With Kya still attached to her, Lin opened the door to the apartment, ushering them into it. She pressed Kya against the now closed door, and the water-bender moaned softly into her mouth. 

"Take this off." Kya mumbled breathlessly, tapping Lin's metal uniform. Lin stepped back and bended the uniform off and over her head, but not before Kya grabbed the pair of handcuffs that were hanging off Lin's belt. 

"You haven't had enough handcuffs for one night?" Lin asked incredulously. Kya just grinned and dangled them above her head as she made her way to the bedroom, leaving a trail of her outer-clothing behind her.

When Lin walked into the bedroom Kya was already sitting on the bed, wearing only her underwear, trying to put the handcuffs on herself. Rolling her eyes, Lin flicked her wrist, and the metal handcuffs attached themselves around Kya.

"Only you would get arrested, and still want to use cuffs in bed." Lin grumbled as she climbed on top of a giggling Kya.

Lin took Kya's cuffed hands and softly pulled them above her head, attaching them to the headboard. 

" _So_ serious." Kya teased, and Lin rolled her eyes again.

"Technically I _am_ sleeping with a criminal." She smirked and Kya laughed again.

"Yeah, let's hurry up with that, shall we?" Kya leaned in and Lin met her lips with a fiery intensity. This wasn't the first time they'd used a pair of cuffs in the bedroom, Lin knew that Kya liked to experiment with a _lot_ of things, but cuffs were one thing they could both agree on. 

Even while restrained, Kya took control of the kiss, deepening it as she gnawed on Lin's bottom lip. Lin left a trail of kisses down Kya's jaw, nipping at the skin where her jawline met her neck. 

She kissed down to the center of the water-bender's chest, sucking a bruise just below her left breast. Lin's tongue rolled the pebbled flesh of Kya's nipple around in her mouth, aware of the heavy breathing above her. She paid the other breast the same amount of attention, until she knew Kya was beginning to get antsy. 

Lin slowly kissed down the length of Kya's stomach; her breath hitching as Lin planted a kiss just below her navel. Lin wrapped her arms around the Kya's thighs, looking up from between her legs to make eye contact with an already flushed Kya. 

"Don't be cute." muttered Kya breathlessly, and Lin couldn't help but chuckle at her impatience. 

"Doctors orders." Lin hooked one finger under Kya's panties, sliding them down her legs slowly. Making her way back up, Lin left slow, open-mouthed kisses up Kya's thigh, earning a breathless sigh from the woman below her. 

Lin's tongue gently teased in between Kya's folds, and she couldn't help but smile. She'd missed the taste of her girlfriend. She hooked her arms around Kya's thighs once again and slid her tongue into the water-bender, earning a groan of approval. 

Kya arched her back, pushing her center further into Lin's mouth as she flicked her tongue upwards. 

Lin heard the metal clang of the cuffs hitting the headboard as Kya grinded her hips against Lin's tongue, desperately searching for more friction. 

A breathy moan escaped the water-bender's lips as Lin gently sucked on her labia, teasing her clit with her tongue. Kya bit down on her lip after another moan escaped her, focusing on the feeling of Lin's head between her thighs.

Lin slowly slid her hand up Kya's stomach, running her forefinger over a nipple, massaging it in her hands. 

Refocusing her attention between Kya's legs, Lin moved her tongue faster in and out of the water-bender, earning short gasps of pleasure from Kya. 

Kya arched her back again, her legs shaking in orgasm, feeling Lin's tongue ease her through a series of aftershocks. 

Lin slid her tongue out from inside the water-bender, making her way back up to meet a still heavily breathing Kya. With a snap of her fingers, the handcuffs released Kya's wrists, and she wiped the sweat off her forehead with her now free arms.

Kya slid a hand around Lin's neck, kissing her deeply; still tasting herself on the earth-bender's lips. 

"That was quite a reward," Kya murmured, stealing another quick kiss. "I should get arrested more often." 

Lin rolled her eyes. "How did I get stuck with _you_?" She groaned.

Kya grinned and flipped her over, straddling Lin's waist. 

"Just lucky, I guess." Kya teased, and Lin couldn't help but agree; the vision of Kya on top of her, flushed, and still glowing from an orgasm did make her feel pretty lucky. 

"Now," Kya slowly drug a finger down Lin's chest. "Let me show you the _true perks_ of dating a criminal."

* * *

Kya woke the next morning, pleasantly surprised to still be attached to an already awake Lin; usually she would be at the station by now. 

"Morning." Lin murmured, while running her finger's through Kya's soft hair.

Kya pressed a kiss to Lin's shoulder in response, before settling back down on her chest. 

"You're not working today?" Kya asked sleepily, and Lin felt her yawn into the crook of her neck. 

"Took the morning off." Lin replied, still stroking Kya's hair. 

"Mhm, who are you and what have you done with Chief Beifong?" Kya teased, snuggling closer to Lin, who chuckled lightly at the comment. Normally Lin wouldn't even _think_ about taking a day off, but with all the night shifts she'd been working, they could do without her for one morning. 

"I missed you." Lin whispered, causing Kya to lift her head up to meet hers. A few silver strands slipped off her bare shoulders and tickled Lin's chest, and blue eyes riddled with sleep stared into hers. 

"I missed you too." Kya leaned down and kissed her softly, while Lin continued to run her fingers through her hair. 

Lin wanted to hear all about the trip, about Kya's time with Katara, Korra's rehab, and even the man she fought with last night.

She would ask eventually, but for now, the feeling of Kya's warm body tangled with hers was enough. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kya: no more handcuffs for me >:(  
> lin: *has handcuffs*  
> kya: ;))))))
> 
> anyways in case you guys haven't noticed i always like to end my smut with a lil bit of fluff LOL  
> also i know my smut is never really long, mostly cause im not good at writing it (LMFAO), but i hope you guys enjoyed it cause im gonna tug at ur heartstrings a lil in the next chapter..
> 
> UPDATE: so basically i had to update the rating on the work LOL now it's a mature fic which i didn't really expect it to become but oh well


	12. nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i feel like bumi and kya's trauma is of literally falling off a cliff is never really talked about so here.   
> also, since the air-bender's were really counting on them to hold the others off, i feel like kya would definitely have some resident guilt about possibly putting her nieces and nephews in danger, even though it wasn't her fault.

_"Bumi, let go!" Kya's gaze flitted to her brother, who was their only connection to the temple and the drop below, and the combustion bender currently aiming at them._

_"If I let go, we'll both die!" He argued, struggling to hold both their weight._

_"We're gonna die if we hang on!"_

_In that moment, Bumi had to make a decision. He could hold on to ledge of the temple and die, or he could let go, and possibly die again. He closed his eyes. He was the eldest, and he was supposed to protect his family. And there, with his younger sister screaming at him to let go so they could fall to their deaths, he did._

_Kya felt herself fall and fall, not knowing when it was going to end._

_And THAT was the fear that was paralyzing her._

_The fear of not knowing when she would hit the ground._

_She hit what felt like a tree first._

_CRUNCH._

_Then a rocky ledge collided with her side._

_CRUNCH._

_She rolled off, and suddenly she was falling again, and all she could do was close her eyes; and wait to be the first of the family to see their father again._

_****_

Kya sat up abruptly in bed, awaking the woman whose arm's were snaked around her. She felt hot tears on her cheeks, and suddenly panicked. _Where was she?_

A familiar groggy voice shocked Kya out of her panicked state, as she felt a warm hand on her back. 

"Are you okay?" Lin rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, sitting up to meet the heavily breathing water-bender. 

"I'm fine." Kya didn't turn to meet Lin's eyes; she couldn't. "I'm sorry for waking you, go back to sleep." Kya patted Lin's cheek and slid off the bed, but not before Lin saw the tear stains on Kya's cheek. 

Kya pulled on a robe and walked out of the bedroom. Lin rubbed her eyes and got dressed, pulling on a white tank top and a pair of loose pants. 

When Lin found her again, Kya was in the kitchen making tea. When she noticed Lin's presence, Kya turned around and smiled.

"Do you want a cup?' Lin didn't answer but Kya poured her one anyways. To anyone else, it would seem that Kya _was_ fine, but Lin had seen the panicked look in her eyes when she woke up; it was the same way Lin felt when she had dreams about Amon.

Kya took her cup and took a seat at the kitchen table, Lin following close behind her. 

"Kya, what happened?" Lin asked, taking a seat next to her. "You can talk to me." 

Kya took a sip of her tea before answering, and Lin could see her hands shake ever so slightly. 

"It's honestly nothing." Kya murmured, but the way her hands were gripping her tea mug told a different story. 

"It's not nothing, Kya." Lin reached forwards to wrap her hands around Kya's, who was still gripping the tea mug. "You can talk to me." She repeated herself and Kya took a deep breath. 

"I guess I've just been thinking about me and Bumi's fall when we fought the Red Lotus." Kya admitted, still looking at her tea. Lin could of kicked herself for being so stupid. Of course Kya would be traumatized, she had fallen off a cliff and had multiple broken bones. 

"But it's not really all that." Kya continued, gripping the mug even tighter. Lin could practically feel the hurt radiating off of the water-bender, but for the first time in her life, this wasn't an injury that Kya could heal with her bending. 

Kya took a shuddering breath and Lin could tell she was about to cry. Lin gripped her fingers even tighter around the water-bender, and Kya sniffled softly. 

"Pema told me," Kya took another deep breath before continuing. "That Ikki's been having nightmares about men in red armor coming to take her away." A single tear slipped down her cheek, and Lin desperately wanted to lean forwards and wipe it away, but it was followed by another, and another. 

"I just-" Kya sniffled again, her tears falling freely now. "Maybe if Bumi and I could of held them off longer, maybe-" She buried her face in her hands, her back heaving as sobs racked her body. 

Lin got out of her chair and knelt on the ground next to Kya, gently taking her hands off her face and squeezing them in her own. 

"They're too young to be so scared of being killed." Kya whispered shakily. 

"I know." Lin reached up and wiped the remaining tears off her cheeks, and Kya got off the chair to join Lin on the floor. 

Wrapping her arms around the earth-bender's shoulders, Kya buried her head into Lin's neck, wanting to take in as much of her warmth as she could. Lin tangled one hand into Kya's silver hair, placing the other on the small of her back, pulling her closer. 

"They're all safe." Lin soothed quietly, still stroking Kya's hair. "They're all alive." Kya didn't answer, just nodding into the earth-bender's neck, hoping her girlfriend would keep distracting her with her voice. 

"Everything you did, you did to protect them." Lin murmured. "You might not of won the battle, but you won the war." She continued, feeling Kya sniffle into her chest. 

"You helped save the air nation, Kya." She extricated herself out from Lin's neck to look at her. "And your nieces and nephews are alive because of it."

"I know you're worried about Ikki," Lin continued. "But she is _safe_ , and she'll have to work through these nightmares just like you." 

Lin cupped Kya's face in her hands, looking into now fragile-looking blue eyes. "You'll get through this. _We'll_ get through this."

Kya closed her eyes, letting the weight of Lin's words flow through her. _They would get through this. Ikki would get through this. They were safe._

"Thank you." Kya whispered softly, and Lin pulled her into another tight embrace. 

"Let's go back to bed." Lin whispered, and as Kya nodded into Lin's chest, she scooped her up in her arms, and began walking them back to the bedroom. 

"You know you don't have to carry me." Kya muttered sheepishly, but Lin just smiled down at her. 

"I've got you, _always_." Kya leaned up to press a long kiss to Lin's cheek in response; she wished she could convey how thankful she was for the way Lin took care of her tonight, but no words seemed to be enough. 

Lin softly placed her on the bed, crawling in beside her. She pressed her body flush against Kya's back, draping an arm around her waist, pulling her as close as she could. 

"I love you, Lin Beifong." Kya whispered; with a new urgency, as if she would never be able to say it again. 

Lin pressed a soft kiss to the back of Kya's neck. 

"I love _you_."

* * *

Kya woke up the next morning before Lin did; the two women still in the same position they'd fallen asleep in. 

She slowly rolled over, careful not to wake Lin, to face her still sleeping partner. 

Kya loved watching Lin sleep. She always looked so _peaceful_. Not worried about police work, the avatar, or keeping anyone safe; it was just, Lin. Kya reached out to lightly trace the scars on Lin's cheek with her fingers, slightly in awe of the woman in front of her. _She was so beautiful._

In Kya's opinion, she was the luckiest woman in the world. Most people don't even end up with their soulmate, much less their childhood love. Kya, had somehow, ended up with both, which filled her to no end with happiness. 

She had truly never loved anyone as much as she loved Lin.

It had always been Lin, no matter where she was in the world or who she was with, it was _always_ Lin. 

_She could stay in this moment forever._ Kya thought to herself.

And so she did; the steady rise and fall of the earth-bender's chest lulled Kya back to sleep, drifting off with the final image of Lin's peaceful slumber in her mind. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay this kinda short so im sorry!! 
> 
> usually my emotional chapters are very Lin-centric, with Kya comforting her, but i kinda wanted to switch it up a bit to shed a little light on Kya's issues cause they aren't really talked abt as much so as always lmk what you guys think!


	13. operation kyalin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> basically kyalin after the operation beifong episode, plus toph being a lil shit LMAO  
> also my chapters are getting shorter and shorter SORRY

"I know I wasn't a great mother, but one way or another I ended with great kids!" Toph exclaimed to Lin and Su, who were thanking their mother for all her help.

"If you can just find some way not to hate me, that's enough for me." Toph turned her head towards Lin, which was her way of making eye contact with her eldest daughter. Lin nodded her head appreciatively, putting her hand on her mother's shoulder. 

"Me too." She pulled her mother into a rather awkward side hug, and Toph snorted suddenly. 

"By the way, congratulations for finally bagging Sugar Queen Jr, I'm glad you got over your angsty little, _we're just friends!_ charade you've been playing." Toph snickered. 

Lin immediately pulled away from her mother, shooting an accusatory glance at her sister, and Su just held up her hands defensively. "I didn't tell her!" 

"Oh, don't jump on Su!" Toph waved her hand at Lin, who was still scowling at Su. "I _see_ a lot more than you think with those spirit vines, and I've seen enough to know that Sugar Queen Jr has loosened you up _quite_ a bit!" 

"In more ways than one." Su chortled, earning another snicker from Toph, and a scowl from Lin. 

"Yeah, _real_ mature, guys." Lin grumbled, waiting for her mother and sister to stop cackling over her relationship.

"You know, I called it from day _one_!" Toph bragged, "You should of seen her every-time Sugar Queen Jr walked by!" 

"Uh, h-h-Hi, K-Kya." Toph chortled, mocking Lin, who was currently turning as red as Mako's scarf. Su was practically doubled over with laughter, and Bolin was barely holding himself together for the chief's sake. 

"I was never like _that_." Lin muttered, which only caused Toph and Su to erupt into another fit of laughter, and Lin felt the corners of her lips twitch upwards. 

Suddenly serious, Toph turned to Lin, walking up to her and putting both hands on her shoulders; "looking" into her eyes. Lin was actually kind of nervous how serious her mother looked.

"We've kept you here too long Lin." She said seriously. "You need to get laid! Get back to your woman!" Toph slapped the back of Lin's metal uniform and Su howled with laughter again. 

"Very mature, mom." Lin grumbled, stomping away from the group and back to the air bison. 

"Go get your girl, Lin!" Su yelled after her, and Lin hoped they would get done with their little family reunion quickly so she actually could. 

* * *

The lock on Lin's apartment door slid open at the wave of the metal-bender's fingers, and Lin opened the door, surprised to see Kya asleep on the couch. 

By the look of the half-empty tea cup on the table, and Kya's still sitting position, it looked like she'd fallen asleep waiting up for Lin. The earth-bender was slightly puzzled, because she hadn't given Kya a specific date for when she'd be back. Suddenly, the thought that Kya had waited up for her every night occurred to her; and Lin softened a little at the thought. 

Kya was wearing one of Lin's white tank-tops and her pants, and Lin couldn't help but smile at the sight of her girlfriend wearing solely _her_ clothes. 

She knelt down in front of Kya, brushing a strand of silver hair away from her face. She felt a little guilty for waking her; and Lin wondered how well Kya had been sleeping since she left to go rescue Su. When they last saw each other, Kya was still struggling with occasional nightmares, and Lin hated the thought of leaving her alone in such a state. Of course, it had been Kya urging Lin to go and rescue Su, and she promised Lin she'd be fine, but seeing Kya sleeping on the couch made her heart clench a little. 

"Kya." Lin whispered, running a finger across Kya's jawline. "Wake up." 

Kya's eyes fluttered opened to meet familiar green ones.

"Lin?" Kya sat up, rubbing her eyes, standing up to meet Lin. "You're back!" "How was the trip? Is Su okay? What happened with Kuvira? Are _you_ okay?" 

"Slow down." Lin chuckled, taking Kya's hand which was trailing across her cheek. 

"I'm fine, everyone's fine, and I promise I'll give you more details later, but right now.." Lin trailed off, but Kya understood; Lin was exhausted. 

"Come on." She cupped Lin's face gently. "Let's get you showered." She whispered. Kya leaned in and sniffed Lin, scrunching up her nose. "You stink." 

"Gee thanks." Lin said sarcastically, and Kya only giggled and led her to the bathroom. 

The two women stripped each other down, neither one of them aroused; just happy to be in each other's company again. They stepped into the shower and Lin let the warm water run down her face as Kya scrubbed her body, only stopping to heal Lin's bruises at the base of her spine. Kya sweetly kissed every spot she healed, releasing a a contented sigh from Lin. 

Turning Lin around, Kya reached up to press a soft kiss to her lips, and Lin wrapped her arms around the water-bender's waist, pulling her close. 

Kya rested her forehead against Lin's. "Thank you for coming back to me." Kya whispered. 

"Did you think I wouldn't?" Lin murmured, absentmindedly tracing a finger along Kya's jaw. 

Kya just shrugged. "Sometimes things can happen." 

Lin tilted the water-bender's chin up to meet her eyes. "I made you a promise, Kya, and I intend to keep it." 

"I know." Kya smiled at her. "And I love you for it." 

They stayed for what felt like hours under the warm water, holding each other in their arms, and Lin almost fell asleep standing up. She heard Kya turn off the water and bend the water off them, before grabbing Lin's hand and leading her towards the bedroom. 

Lin felt a soft kiss pressed to her temple before she drifted off into a deep, peaceful slumber. 

* * *

Kya woke up the next morning, facing Lin, who had an arm draped protectively across her shoulder, and was still fast asleep. She smiled at the sleeping earth-bender, letting herself savor the warmth of the body next to her for a few seconds, then slowly slid off the bed. 

***

Lin woke up to the sun's warm rays streaming through the slightly open blinds. She groaned softly, reaching out for Kya's warmth, only to open her eyes and find the bed empty. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and smell of food being cooked wafted through her nose. Smiling, she got dressed and went to meet Kya in the kitchen.

Making her way into the kitchen, she was met with Kya's back to her, sizzling something in a pan, and humming another hippie nomad song to herself. 

Kya's humming paused when she felt a warm hand on her waist, and a kiss pressed to her temple.

"Morning, chief." Kya grinned, her back still to Lin. "I thought you might like some breakfast." 

"Not exactly what I had in mind." Lin whispered, moving Kya's hair away from her face; leaning down to press a slow, lingering kiss to the nape of her neck. Kya whipped around immediately to face her.

"Lin Beifong!" She exclaimed, in mock offense. "Not in front of the food." She grinned and motioned to the sizzling bao buns on the pan. 

"The food can wait. There's something else I want for breakfast." Kya giggled as Lin heaved her up onto the countertop, pressing their lips together. 

Lin's hands slowly traveled up and down Kya's bronze thighs, caressing the soft skin between her fingers. Kya hooked her ankles around Lin's back, drawing her closer in between her legs. Lin's hands gravitated to her back, pulling Kya's body flush against her. 

"Food's burning." Kya murmured in between kisses, and Lin flicked her finger; the metal knob of the stove turning off the flame. Kya, still intensely making out with Lin on the kitchen counter, bent some water from the sink and splashed it over the charred remains of their breakfast. 

"We make _such_ a good team." Kya drawled against Lin's lips. 

"Mhm." Lin murmured in agreement, picking a giggling Kya off the counter, and carrying her back to the room, where they would spent the rest of the morning together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so i was gonna make the toph and lin scene talking about kyalin more serious and heartfelt but then i kinda was playing around with a funnier rewrite and i liked that better so. if you guys want i could write more serious toph and lin but idk.
> 
> yall really thought you were gonna get more smut.. nope just some slightly smutty fluff today :))))
> 
> also: i think im only gonna write two more chapters for this fic. IM SORRY OK. i wanted to make this a very canon fic, and im already more than halfway through s4 so. BUT, i have a really great new fic idea, its still a kyalin fic but its more of an actual storyline instead of one-shots, and its gonna be sad and angsty but a happy ending so, be on the look out for that !


	14. like mother like daughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> basically kyalin just trying to have some "alone time" but are interrupted by a familiar face.   
> light smut but mostly fluff 
> 
> also thank you guys so much for commenting im having major writers block rn and your comments basically inspired me to write this chapter :)

Lin flopped down on the bed next to Kya, who was meditating; legs crossed and eyes closed, on her side of the bed. It had been over a week since they've spent any time with each other at all; Lin had been working day and night preparing for Kuvira's invasion, and Kya had gotten a job as lead healer at the hospital, leaving almost no time for them together. Lin had been working late almost every night, and on the occasion when she got home earlier than usual, Kya, exhausted from her day, would already be asleep. A few stolen kisses in between shifts were the most action either one of them had gotten in what felt like _years_.

Lin propped an arm underneath her side to look at the water-bender, who was still peacefully meditating. She wore her usual short, dark blue slip she usually slept in, and for once, her hair was let down, free from the constraints of her traditional ponytail, silver waves cascading down her shoulders. 

"You're staring." Kya popped one eye open and grinned at the earth-bender, who was, in fact, staring. 

"Just looking." Lin replied, as if she was not just ogling at her girlfriend's beauty not two seconds ago. 

"There are laws against stalking, you know." Kya's eyes were closed again, but her lips were twitched upwards in a cocky smirk. "Seems like the _chief of police_ would know that." 

"Yeah, who's gonna stop me?" Lin snorted, placing her hand on top of Kya's knee, who chuckled lightly. Kya went back to focusing on her meditation, but suddenly she was hyperaware of Lin's fingertips slowly grazing the inside of her knee, traveling upwards almost _painfully_ slow. Kya's eyes were still closed in concentration, but Lin could tell by the way she pursed her lips together when her hand traveled up the inside of her thigh; that her self control was withering. Kya opened her eyes to see the earth-bender looking up at her innocently, as she continued her ministrations up Kya's thigh. 

Kya sighed dramatically and quickly pulled Lin on top of her, who settled her hips in-between the water-bender's legs. 

"Mm, Republic City's _esteemed_ chief of police practically _begging_ for me," Kya whispered as Lin trailed a finger down her jaw. "What a sight to see." 

"I do _not_ beg." Lin muttered, planting a kiss just below Kya's chin. 

"You will." Kya's eyes twinkled and she closed the space between them, kissing the earth-bender passionately. 

Kya ran her fingers along Lin's biceps; her muscles tight and defined as they gripped Kya's hips. She moaned softly as Lin nibbled on her bottom lip; nimble fingers slipping one of the straps off Kya's bronze shoulders. With one hand tangled in Lin's hair, pressing their faces together, the water-bender slid the other onto Lin's back, pulling the couple flush against each other. 

A knock at the front door startled Kya, but Lin kept going.

"Just leave it." The earth-bender mumbled, and Kya grinned against her lips. 

"I love it when you're like this." She flipped over to straddle Lin's hips, placing both hands on the earth-bender's chiseled abdomen to steady herself. Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she leaned down to engage Lin in another fierce kiss. Lin's hands gravitated to Kya's thighs, slowly sliding the hem of her dark blue slip further up, until it pooled at her waist. Kya's hands slowly pulled the bottom of Lin's tank up towards her chest. 

"Don't make me metal-bend this door open! I can feel you two rolling around in there!" A familiar, loud voice was barely muffled by the distance between the bedroom and the front door, and both women immediately stopped what they were doing.

Lin flopped back on the bed, groaning loudly in annoyance. 

"What is Toph doing here?" Kya extricated herself off Lin, pulling the straps of her slip back on her shoulders. 

"Nothing a little matricide won't solve." Lin grumbled as she swung her legs off the bed, making her way to the front door. Kya followed closely behind, tying a robe over her body. 

Lin swung the door open with such force that Kya thought it was going to tear clear off it's hinges, and Toph immediately sauntered into Lin's apartment. 

"About time, sorry to ruin your little love-fest." Toph snickered, and Kya barely bit back a smile for Lin's sake. 

"Sure, you can come in." Lin muttered sarcastically, closing the door behind her mother. 

"It's good to see you, Aunt Toph!" Kya stepped forwards and wrapped the old woman in a hug, and Toph immediately pulled back, swatting Kya away. 

"Alright, alright, you're worse than Sugar Queen the first!" Toph muttered. Kya chuckled lightly, but Lin was not amused. 

"Is there something you _need_ , mom?" Lin scowled at her mother, who returned it with just as much tenacity. Apparently it was a Beifong thing. 

"Can't a mother come visit her daughter?" Toph sneered more than asked, and Lin just crossed her arms in front of her. 

Sensing the tension, Kya spoke up quickly, "Why don't you come sit down Aunt Toph, and I could make up some tea for us?" Kya took Toph's arm, leading her towards the kitchen, earning her an irritated look from Lin. Kya just rolled her eyes and cocked her head towards the kitchen, indicating Lin to follow the two women. Lin inwardly groaned, watching Kya lead her mother into the kitchen. It was the first night in a while where they were together, and now Lin had to entertain her mother? She just wanted to crawl back in bed with Kya. 

"So when did you move in here, Kya?" Toph was sitting at the kitchen counter when Lin entered, and Kya was heating up water by the sink for their tea. 

"Oh, a little before I left to accompany Korra to the South Pole." Kya responded, water-bending the tea into three cups, and handing one to Toph, cocking her head at Lin again to sit with them. Lin rolled her eyes and begrudgingly took a seat next to her mother, accepting a cup from Kya. 

"Hmph, I never thought my daughter would be the domestic type." Toph remarked, sipping her tea, and Kya thought Lin was about to take her mother's head off. She shot Lin a warning glance and Lin shot her another one back. 

_She's your mother, Lin._ Kya said with her eyes.

_So?_

_Talk to her!_

_I don't want to talk to her!_

_Lin!_

_She shouldn't even be here, this is MY apartment for spirits sake!_

Toph just quietly sipped her tea while the two women continued their silent argument. 

"Lin, could you come help me with something over in the hallway, please?" Lin sighed and got up, letting Kya usher her into the hallway by the kitchen. 

"Lin come on." Kya whispered, and Lin just leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. 

"Come on, _what_." She scowled and Kya narrowed her eyes at her girlfriend. 

"You could at least _try_ to initiate a conversation with her!"

"Why? She's barging in to _my_ apartment in the middle of the night!"

"Lin, she's _trying_. " Kya whispered. "Coming here to see you was a big step, and you need to make an effort too!" 

"I only promised to find some way _not_ to hate her." Lin grumbled and Kya caught her arm. 

"It'll take both of you to fix this relationship, Lin." Kya whispered.

"But she's the one who broke it in the first place!" Lin exclaimed, trying to keep her voice down. 

"I know." Kya reached out to tuck a grey strand of hair behind Lin's ear. "Please at least try; for me." 

Lin grimaced, but sighed and nodded her head in agreement. Kya gently steered Lin back towards the kitchen, but turned around to walk the opposite way down the hallway. 

"Where are you going?!' Lin whispered incredulously. 

"Anywhere but there; you two need some mother daughter time." Kya made a motion of shooing Lin back towards the kitchen, and Lin groaned like a child being forced to go to bed early. Watching her girlfriend walk away, Lin couldn't help but think of how much Kya owed her for this. Lin sulked back into the kitchen and took a seat next to her mother, who was still finishing her tea. 

They sat in silence for a little bit before Toph spoke up.

"Listen Lin, if you don't want me here, I'll go." For one of the first times in her life, Toph's voice was soft, and non-combative, and Lin had to do a double take. 

"No, it's fine, you just surprised us, is all." Silence fell over the two women again, except with the occasional sound of tea being sipped. Lin couldn't help but wonder if Kya was just around the corner, listening to the conversation; or lack thereof. 

"You seem happy, Lin." Her mother's comment was so uncharacteristically quiet that Lin almost didn't hear her. 

"Does she make you happy?" Toph was still 'looking' at the teacup in her hands and Lin suddenly wanted to reach out and hug her. 

"Yes, very much so." Lin responded quietly, and she swore she almost saw her mother smile. 

"Good, I always liked her better than Tenzin." Toph snorted. 

"Mom!" 

"What? I haven't seen you this happy in a long time." Her smiled faded and she looked back down at her tea. "Well, I haven't really _ever_ seen you happy."

Lin wasn't really sure what to say. It wasn't like she was an unhappy person, but growing up in the Beifong household wasn't exactly kicks and giggles. Kya had definitely loosened her up in the past few years, but being stoic and serious was apart of Lin's personality; she couldn't really blame her mother for it. 

"Mom, listen, I know we haven't had the best relationship over the years, but, I want you to know," Lin paused, suddenly feeling extremely vulnerable. "I care about you, I do." It wasn't a tearful declaration of love or anything, but to a Beifong, it was heartfelt. 

Toph just nodded, still staring at her tea. Lin wasn't really expecting her mother to pull her into a hug anyways. 

"When Su and I patched things up years ago, I was thinking about you." Toph continued. "But I know I hurt you the most, and I do regret it." It wasn't really a heartfelt apology, but Lin felt the words deep down. Toph was owning up. Kya was right; her mother really _did_ want to fix things. Lin made a mental note to thank her girlfriend later. 

Lin put a hand on her mother's shoulder. "Thank you, mom." They sat there for a minute in silence, letting the conversation they just had linger in the air between them. 

"Alright, that's enough blubbering for tonight!" Toph downed the rest of her tea and stood up, socking Lin lightly in the arm. "Go get back to your woman." 

Lin stood up, following her mother to the door. 

"Mom?" Toph turned around to face her daughter. 

"Thank you for coming by." Lin said sincerely. Toph nodded, and Lin almost saw her smile again. 

"Spirits, Sugar Queen Jr. really _has_ softened you up!" Toph snickered, and Lin couldn't help but smile at her mother's retreating figure.

Just as Lin closed the door behind her mother, she heard Kya's light footsteps patter through the apartment. She turned around to see Kya standing in the hallway, anticipation in her eyes. 

"So?" Kya walked up to Lin and stopped in front of her. "How did it go?" 

"I'm surprised you weren't eavesdropping." Lin chuckled, making her way back to the kitchen with Kya following close behind her. 

"Well no one's bleeding and nothing's broken, so I take it the conversation went well?" Kya leaned against the counter while Lin cleared away the empty teacups. 

"It went fine." Lin admitted. "Better than I expected." Realizing she wasn't going to get much more from the earth-bender, Kya ran forwards to wrap a rather surprised Lin in a tight hug. 

"I'm proud of you babe." She whispered. "I know it must of been hard." 

"You were right, she actually _wanted_ to fix things." Lin placed a finger underneath Kya's chin, tilting it up to look at her. 

"Thank you." Lin said sincerely. Without Kya's extra push, she would of easily kicked her mother to the curb without a second thought.

Kya leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to Lin's lips. "What else would I be here for?" She chuckled.

"Well, you're pretty sexy, if nothing else." Lin teased and Kya giggled, brushing a finger against her lips. 

"Speaking of, I think we were in the middle of something earlier, weren't we?" Kya murmured, brushing her lips against Lin's cheek. 

"Oh gee, were we? I don't remember." Lin snarked, her grip around Kya's waist tightening. 

"Let me remind you." Kya leaned in to press a firm kiss against her girlfriend's lips, silencing any another snarky remarks. 

"Remember anything _now_ , _chief_?" 

"I don't know," Lin breathed softly, watching Kya seductively bite her lip below her. "I'm more of a, _hands-on_ , learner." Lin bent over, picking Kya up; who yelped in surprise, throwing the water-bender over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. 

"Hands-on, huh?" Kya giggled as Lin carried her to the bedroom. "I like the sound of that." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so im a toph stan (obviously) so i didn't really go into much detail about her bad parenting n stuff but i actually liked writing a little beifong family dynamic lol   
> i hope you guys liked this chapter cause the next one is gonna be the last ;( i've already decided that my next fic will follow the timeline of this fic, but ill give you guys more info next chapter if you're interested :)


	15. endgame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> basically kyalin at varrick's wedding :)  
> (s4 finale but w/out all da fighting n stuff )

Lin stood in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom, adjusting her green earth-bender robes. For some reason that was beyond her, Varrick had invited her and Kya to his wedding with Zhu Li, and Lin wasn't really all that thrilled to attend a wedding of someone she barely knew, much less the one of a technically convicted criminal. Kya, however was excited the minute they got the invitation, she said it would be a nice change of pace from all the turmoil in the past few days. A "light in the dark" she'd called it.

And she was right, honestly. When Kuvira invaded, the two women went their separate ways. With nothing but a quick kiss and their promise to come back to one another connecting them, Kya went to help Pema and Wu evacuate the citizens, while Lin fought on the front lines with Korra and team avatar. Even after the invasion, Kya had her work cut out for her at the hospital, and Lin and the police force had to rebuild the city. It had been a while since they relaxed together. 

Kya came up behind Lin, putting both her hands on the earth-benders shoulders. "You look _amazing_ babe." Kya whispered, resting her chin on Lin's right shoulder. 

"So do you." Lin murmured, looking at their reflection in the mirror. And she did; Kya wore a long, sleeveless, light blue water-tribe dress, a stripe of darker blue cinching the dress at her waist, accentuating the curve of her hips. Her hair was done up in her traditional ponytail, pulled back by a dark blue ribbon. 

"We make _such_ a hot couple." Kya grinned, planting a kiss just behind Lin's ear. 

Rolling her eyes, Lin extended an arm out to Kya. 

"Shall we?"

* * *

The ceremony was beautiful, to say the least. From the island, the view of the city was remarkable. Although whole buildings were collapsed and rubble was everywhere, the bright yellow light of the newly formed spirt portal seemed to light up the night sky, showering the city in an ethereal glow. It really was a light in the dark. And that's what Republic City had always been, a beacon of hope that benders and non-benders could leave together peacefully, free from the constrains of identifying with a specific nation. In the past few years, Republic City had been through so much, but still came out on the other side; much like the people who inhabited it. 

Looking over at Kya, who was contently watching the ceremony, Lin couldn't help but feel truly at peace. A few years ago, Lin would buried herself into her work, trying to rebuild everything that was broken in Republic City. Of course, she still had her work, and she loved her job, but for once in her life, being police chief wasn't the only thing that Lin had. She had a girlfriend, a sister, a mother, and entire family even. She loved and she _was_ loved, and it was the most peaceful feeling in the world. 

"Hey Lin, the ceremony's up _there_." Su whispered from the seat behind her, smiling gleefully at her older sister ogling at the water-bender. Kya turned around to face Su, grinning at Lin as she did.

"I can't blame her Su, I'm irresistible." Kya giggled and dramatically flipped her hair over her shoulder, eliciting an eye roll from Lin and another chuckle from Su. 

Kya turned to look at her girlfriend, who was now watching the ceremony with a bored expression on her face. Kya knew Lin didn't like social engagements; making a mental note to thank Lin for indulging her. There, looking at her girlfriend, she couldn't help but smile at how far they've come. A friends to lover trope wasn't an uncommon scenario, but Kya liked to think that their relationship was extremely special. Kya had spent her life exploring the world, having new experiences and meeting new people. If someone told her that in a few years she'd be settled down and in love, Kya would of laughed in their face. Her and Lin had led completely different lives, but still managed to find each other again and again. When she and Lin first began their relationship, Kya was fearful that she would get bored, as her need to travel had been instilled in her from a very young age. She quickly realized that the freedom of traveling did nothing to compare with the way she felt when she was with Lin, and for the first time in her life; Kya never wanted to leave Republic City again. 

Their relationship was unlike any other they'd had before, but was what neither one of them knew they needed. They changed each other for the better without even realizing it. Kya helped Lin extricate herself from her work, helping her form a personality other than the chief of police. Lin helped Kya realize, without even knowing, that there was nothing wrong with staying in one place; Lin was the one thing that was constant throughout Kya's life; she was the consistency that Kya never knew she needed. 

After all the destruction in the past few years, their relationship remained stronger than ever, _they_ , remained stronger than ever, individually and together.

The crowd suddenly erupted into applause as Zhu Li pulled Varrick into a passionate kiss, and Kya suddenly had the same urge.

Kya turned to press her lips against a startled Lin, who still wasn't the biggest fan of public displays of affection; but nevertheless leaned into the kiss. 

"What was that for?" Lin breathed as Kya pulled away, their breaths still mingling together. 

"Just something about being at a wedding." Kya replied, grinning as she leaned back into her chair. 

"Aww, my sister's in _loooooveeee._ " Su teased from behind them, tapping Lin's shoulder lightly. 

"Shut up Su." 

* * *

Kya had promised Lin they could leave halfway through the reception, but Kya kept constantly disappearing into the crowd, socializing with everyone. Lin sat at one of the guest tables, surveying the crowd on the dance floor. Her eyes found Korra and Asami first, who were dancing and holding each other close. It was a sweet sight. The young avatar had been through so much, and Lin was glad the girl was finally happy. 

Her eyes found Kya again, who was being dragged onto the dance floor by her nieces. She twirled Ikki and Jinora around, laughing as the threesome spun in circles. The music was loud, but Lin swore she could hear the sweet sound of Kya's laugh all the way across the dance floor. Lin felt her lips twitch up in a contented smile as she took in the scene in front of her. The blur of Kya's blue dress that flared around as she spun, silver hair cascading down her back, blue eyes twinkling with laughter. _She was the most beautiful woman in the world._

Kya's eyes caught Lin's from across the dance floor; kissing the top of her nieces's heads, she ushered them back to their parents, and sauntered up to Lin. Stopping in front of her, Kya extended her hand out towards Lin. 

"Dance with me, _chief_." Her blue eyes twinkled at the earth-bender; lips upturned in a lopsided grin. 

"I don't dance." Lin replied dryly, eliciting a sweet laugh from the water-bender. 

"Sure you do," Kya leaned in closer. "If it means you'll get lucky tonight." Lin rolled her eyes at the rather exaggerated wink Kya threw in her direction. 

"Don't I still get lucky either way?" Lin snickered, and Kya just grinned and leaned in even closer. He hand found its way to Lin's thigh, squeezing it hard. 

"Kya!" Lin exclaimed, looking in both directions to make sure no one was watching where her girlfriend's hand was currently residing. 

"You know I have _no_ shame chief." Kya chuckled and grinned again. "So either I have my way with you right here, _or_ , you join me on the dance floor."

Lin groaned and stood up, letting Kya lead her towards the dance floor. "You know this is considered _blackmail_ , right?" She grumbled, and Kya pulled her in close; one hand intertwined in her's, the other resting on Lin's shoulder. 

"I prefer to think of it as, _incentive._ " Kya drawled, eyes twinkling. 

"You think graphic public sex is incentive?" Lin grumbled, her arm wrapped around Kya's waist as they swayed to the music. 

"In front of my little brother and all his friends?" Kya leaned in to whisper in Lin's ear. "Absolutely." 

Lin wasn't much of a dancer, but she let Kya lead her as they danced to the music. Suddenly it felt as if the crowd around them had melted away, like they were the last people on Earth. It was the peaceful, constant feeling that Lin associated with their relationship; the way that as long as Kya was there, nothing else mattered. It was just them. 

"Hey, love-birds." Su and Baatar danced up to them, and Su winked at the couple. 

"Hi Su." Kya smiled warmly, and elbowed Lin lightly, who grumbled a hello to her sister. 

"You two look great together." Su continued. "I never thought I'd see my sister in anything other than a uniform." 

"I know." Kya chuckled lightly, turning to make eye-contact with Lin. "I've got to take her out more." Kya grinned at Lin, who just rolled her eyes at the group.

"I hope you know how happy you make her, Kya." Su smiled. "Lin here is _head over heels_ for you!"

"Su, don't you have a family to mother?" Lin grumbled and Kya squeezed her hand lovingly. Su nodded and laughed.

"We'll see you two later then!" She and her husband danced off, leaving the two women. 

"Head over heels, huh?" Kya teased, lightly poking Lin's cheek; earning an amused scoff from the earth-bender. 

"What were my chances of getting lucky again?" Lin said dryly. 

"At the moment," Kya leaned in. "Very, _very_ good." Their lips met softly in a sweet kiss; they'd been dating for years, but kissing Lin Beifong never failed to make Kya weak in the knees. 

* * *

The couple stood in one of the gazebos on the island, watching fireworks etch themselves across the night sky, raining down on the already glowing city below. Lin and Kya had danced the night away, and Lin could hardly complain. Sure, spending most of the night surrounded by people she didn't know or care about wasn't exactly Lin's idea of a good time, but seeing Kya so elated had rubbed off on her just a little. 

There, holding Kya in her arms, staring up at the dancing night sky, Lin made a mental note of this moment; wanting to instill it permanently in her memories. There were only a few memories that Lin liked to hold on to, and almost all of them included Kya. Lin desperately wished she could thank Kya for everything, tell her how much she loved her, but it just felt like no words seemed adequate. Even a simple 'I love you' seemed diminutive to the way Lin truly felt. Mostly because it wasn't _just_ love. It was friendship, adoration, intimacy; it was everything. 

Lin's grip around Kya tightened, her girlfriend still watching the sky above. 

"Beautiful." Kya murmured, entranced by the splash of colors of the dancing sky.

"Yeah." Lin agreed, but she wasn't really talking about the sky. Kya turned around to face her, putting a single hand on the earth-bender's cheek, caressing the thin pink scars with her thumb. 

"Let's go home." Kya whispered. 

Lin responded by closing the space between them, pressing her lips firmly against the water-bender's. The sky continued to dance in abstract color behind them, but neither one of them was focused on it. Instead, they were engrossed with each other, lips locked in an intimate connection neither woman wanted to break. Where the kiss ended, they remained, souls intertwined, aura's connected. 

Lin didn't have to have Kya's spirituality to feel their connection; their souls had been intertwined their entire lives, tied together by a single string neither one of them could see. 

But there, in the moonlight under the flashing sky, both women could see the string, a sliver of gold like the spirit portal. 

A sliver of gold, of souls intertwined;

in life, and in death. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok. I would just like to take a minute to thank you guys SO much for reading! I had such a great time writing kyalin and i'm so happy you all enjoyed it just as much as I do. Thank you for all the hits, kudos, and sweet comments! and thank you for your continued readership :) 
> 
> so im starting work on my next fic, which is still kyalin, and is centered around the red lotus. at the end of s3 when zuko said they still didn't know how many red lotus members were out there really inspired me, and i was actually really disappointed with the way they just dropped that storyline, so im gonna pick it up and see what i can do with it. It will follow the timeline of this fic. the first chapter should be up in the next few days, so be on the lookout for "In life and death: a kyalin story" !
> 
> UPDATE: I just posted the first chapter of "in life and death: a kyalin story"!!!! check it out if u want !!!!


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